Sermon for Today:
I Would, But Ye Would Not! by Charles H. Spurgeon
NO. 2381 A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD’S DAY, OCTOBER 7TH, 1894 AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON. ON LORD’S-DAY EVENING, JULY 22ND, 1888.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest
them which are sent onto thee, how often would I have gathered
thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under
her wings, and ye would not!” — Matthew 23:37.
THIS is not and could not be the language of a mere man. It would be
utterly absurd for any man to say that he would have gathered the
inhabitants of a city together, “even as a hen gathereth her chickens under
her wings.” Besides, the language implies that, for many centuries, by the
sending of the prophets, and by many other warnings, God would often
have gathered the children of Jerusalem together as a hen gathereth her
chickens under her wings. Now, Christ could not have said that,
throughout those ages, he would have gathered those people, if he had
been only a man. If his life began at Bethlehem, this would be an absurd
statement; but, as the Son of God, ever loving the sons of men, ever
desirous of the good of Israel, he could say that, in sending the prophets,
even though they were stoned and killed, he had again and again shown his
desire to bless his people till he could truly say, “How often would I have
gathered thy children together!” Some who have found difficulties in this
lament, have said that it was the language of Christ as man. I beg to put in a very decided negative to that; it is, and it must be, the utterance of the
Son of man, the Son of God, the Christ in his complex person as human
and divine. I am not going into any of the difficulties just now; but you
could not fully understand this passage, from any point of view, unless you
believed it to be the language of one who was both God and man.
This verse shows also that the ruin of men lies with themselves. Christ puts
it very plainly, “I would; but ye would not.” “How often would I have
gathered thy children together, and ye would not!” That is a truth, about
which, I hope, we have never had any question; we hold tenaciously that
salvation is all of grace, but we also believe with equal firmness that the
ruin of man is entirely the result of his own sin. It is the will of God that
saves; it is the will of man that damns. Jerusalem stands and is preserved by
the grace and favor of the Most High; but Jerusalem is burnt, and her
stones are cast down, through the transgression and iniquity of men, which
provoked the justice of God.
There are great deeps about these two points; but I have not been
accustomed to lead you into any deeps, and I am not going to do so at this
time. The practical part of theology is that which it is most important for us
to understand. Any man may get himself into a terrible labyrinth who thinks
continually of the sovereignty of God alone, and he may equally get into
deeps that are likely to drown him if he meditates only on the free will of
man. The best thing is to take what God reveals to you, and to believe that.
If God’s Word leads me to the right, I go there; if it leads me to the left, I
go there; if it makes me stand still, I stand still. If you so act, you will be
safe; but if you try to be wise above that which is written, and to
understand that which even angels do not comprehend, you will certainly
befog yourself. I desire ever to bring before you practical rather than
mysterious subjects, and our present theme is one that concerns us all. The
great destroyer of man is the will of man. I do not believe that man’s free
will has ever saved a soul; but man’s free will has been the ruin of
multitudes. “Ye would not,” is still the solemn accusation of Christ against
guilty men. Did he not say, at another time, “Ye will not come unto me,
that ye might have life?” The human will is desperately set against God,
and is the great devourer and destroyer of thousands of good intentions
and emotions, which never come to anything permanent because the will is
acting in opposition to that which is right and true.
That, I think, is the very marrow of the text, and I am going to handle it in
this fashion.
I. First, consider from the very condescending emblem used by our Lord, WHAT GOD IS. TO THOSE WHO COME TO HIM.
He gathers them, “as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.” Let us dwell upon that thought for a few minutes. It is a very marvellous thing that God should condescend to be compared to a hen, that the Christ, the Son of the Highest, the Savior of men, should stoop to so homely a piece of imagery
as to liken himself to a hen. There must be something very instructive in
this metaphor, or our Lord would not have used it in such a connection.
Those of you who have been gathered unto Christ know, first, that by this
wonderful Gatherer, you have been gathered into happy association. The
chickens, beneath the wings of the hen, look very happy all crowded
together. What a sweet little family party they are! How they hide
themselves away in great contentment, and chirp their little note of joy!
You, dear friends, who have never been converted, find very noisy
fellowship, I am afraid, in this world; you do not get much companionship
that helps you, blesses you, gives you rest of mind; but if you had been
gathered to the Lord’s Christ, you would have found that there are many
sweetnesses in this life in being beneath the wings of the Most High. He
who comes to Christ finds father, and mother, and sister, and brother, he
finds many dear and kind friends who are themselves connected with
Christ, and who therefore love those who are joined to him. Amongst the
greatest happinesses of my life, certainly, I put down Christian fellowship;
and I think that many, who have come from the country to London, have
for a long time missed much of this fellowship till, at last, they have fallen
in with Christian people, and they have found themselves happy again. O
lonely sinner, you who come in and out of this place, and say, “Nobody
seems to care about me,” if you will come to Christ, and join with the
church which is gathered beneath his wings, you will soon find happy
fellowship! I remember that, in the times of persecution, one of the saints
said that he had lost his father and his mother by being driven away from
his native country, but he said, “I have found a hundred fathers, and a
hundred mothers, for into whatsoever Christian house I have gone, I have
been looked upon with so much kindness by those who have received me
as an exile from my native land, that everyone has seemed to be a father
and a mother to me.” If you come to Christ, I feel persuaded that he will But that is merely the beginning. A hen is to her little chicks, next, a cover
of safety. There is a hawk in the sky; the mother-bird can see it, though the
chickens cannot; she gives her peculiar cluck of warning, and quickly they
come and hide beneath her wings. The hawk will not hurt them now;
beneath her wings they are secure. This is what God is to those who come
to him by Jesus Christ, he is the Giver of safety. “He shall cover thee with
his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy
shield and buckler.” Even the attraction of thy old sins, or the danger of
future temptations, thou shalt be preserved from all these perils when thou
comest to Christ, and thus hidest away under him.
The figure our Lord used is full of meaning, for, in the next place, the hen
is to her chicks the source of comfort. It is a cold night, and they would be
frozen if they remained outside; but she calls them in, and when they are
under her wings, they derive warmth from their mother’s breast. It is
wonderful, the care of a hen for her little ones; she will sit so carefully, and
keep her wings so widely spread, that they may all be housed. What a
cabin, what a palace, it is for the young chicks to get there under the
mother’s wings! The snow may fall, or the rain may come pelting down,
but the wings of the hen protect the chicks; and you, dear friend, if you
come to Christ, shall not only have safety, but comfort. I speak what I have
experienced. There is a deep, sweet comfort about hiding yourself away in
God, for when troubles come, wave upon wave, blessed is the man who
has a God to give him mercy upon mercy. When affliction comes, or
bereavement comes, when loss of property comes, when sickness comes, in
your own body, there is nothing wanted but your God. Ten thousand
things, apart from him, cannot satisfy you, or give you comfort. There, let
them all go; but if God be yours, and you hide away under his wings, you
are as happy in him as the chickens are beneath the hen. Then, the hen is
also to her chicks,the fountain of love. She loves them; did you ever see a
hen fight for her chickens? She is a timid enough creature at any other
time; but there is no timidity when her chicks are in danger. What an
affection she has for them; not for all chicks, for I have known her kill the
chickens of another brood; but for her own what love she has! Her heart is
all devoted to them. But, oh, if you want to know the true fountain of love,
you must come to Christ! You will never have to say, “Nobody loves me; I
am pining, with an aching heart, for a love that can fill and satisfy it.” The
love of Jesus fills to overflowing the heart of man, and makes him well
content under all circumstances. I would that God had gathered you all, my dear hearers. I know that he has gathered many of you, blessed be his
name; but still there are some here, chicks without a hen, sinners without a
Savior, men, and women, and children, who have never been reconciled to
God.
The hen is also to her chicks, the cherisher of growth. They would not
develop if they were not taken care of; in their weakness they need to be
cherished, that they may come to the fullness of their perfection. And when
the child of God lives near to Christ, and hides beneath his wings, how fast
he grows! There is no advancing from grace to grace, from feeble faith to
strong faith, and from little fervency to great fervency, except by getting
near to God.
The emblem used by our Lord is a far more instructive figure than I have
time to explain. When the Lord gathers sinners to himself, then it is that
they find in him all that the chicks find in the hen, and infinitely more.
II. Now notice, secondly, WHAT GOD DOES TO GATHER MEN. They are straying, and wandering about, but he gathers them. According to the text, Jesus says, “How often would I have gathered thy children together!” How did God gather those of us who have come to him?
He gathers us, first, by making himself known to us. When we come to
understand who he is, and what he is, and know something of his love, and
tenderness, and greatness, then we come to him. Ignorance keeps us away
from him; but to know God, and his Son, Jesus Christ, is eternal life.
Hence I urge you diligently to study the Scriptures, and to be as often as
you can hearing a faithful preacher of the gospel, that, knowing the Lord,
you may by that knowledge be drawn towards him. These are the cords of
love with which the Spirit of God draws men to Christ. He makes Christ
known to us, he shows us Christ in the grandeur of his divine and human
nature, Christ in the humiliation of his sufferings, Christ in the glory of his
resurrection, Christ in the love of his heart, in the power of his arm, in the
efficacy of his plea, in the virtue of his blood; and, as we learn these sacred
lessons, we say, “That is the Christ for me, that is the God for me;” and
thus we are gathered unto him.
But God gathers many to himself by the call of his servants. You see that,
of old, he sent his prophets; now, he sends his ministers. If God does not
send us to you brethren, we shall never gather you; if we come to you in
our own name, we shall come in vain; but if the Lord has sent us, then he will bless us, and our message will be made to you by means of gathering
you to Christ. I would much rather cease to preach than be allowed to go
on preaching but never to gather souls to God. I can truly say that I have
no wish to say a pretty thing, or turn a period, or utter a nice figure of
speech; I want to win your souls, to slay your sin, to do practical work for
God, with each man, each woman, each child, who shall come into this
Tabernacle; and I ask the prayers of God’s people that it may be so. It is
thus that God gathers men to himself, by the message which he gives to
them through his servants.
The Lord has also many other ways of calling men to himself. You saw,
this morning, See Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No. 2034, “Peter’s
Restoration.” that Peter was called to repentance by the crowing of a
cock; and the Lord can use a great many means of bringing sinners to
himself! Omnipotence has servants everywhere; and God can use every
kind of agent, even though it appears most unsuitable, to gather together
his own chosen ones. He has called some of you; he has called some of you
who have not yet come to him. The text says, “How often! It does not tell
us how often; but it puts it as a matter of wonder, “How often!” with a
note of exclamation.
Let me ask you how often has God called some of you? Conscience has
whispered its message to the most of you. When you come to see men
dying, if you talk seriously with them, they will sometimes tell you that
they are unprepared, but that they have often had tremblings and
suspicions; they have long suffered from unrest, and sometimes they have
been” almost persuaded. “I should not think that there is a person in this
place, who has not been sometimes made to shake and tremble at the
thought of the world to come. How often has it been so with you? “How
often,” says God, “would I have gathered you!”
The Lord sometimes speaks to us, not so much by conscience, as by
providence. That death in the family, what a voice it was to us! When your
mother died, when your poor father passed away, what a gathering time it
seemed to be then! You soon forgot all about it; but you did feel it then.
Ah, my dear woman, when your babe was taken from your bosom, and the
little coffin left the house, you remember how you felt, and you, father,
when your prattling boy sang the Sunday-school hymn to you on his dying
bed, and well-nigh broke your heart, then was the Lord going forth in his providence to gather you. You were being gathered, but you would not
come; according to our text, you “would not.”
It has not always been by death that the Lord has spoken to you; for you
have had other calls. When you have been brought low, or have been out
of a situation, when, sometimes, a Christian friend has spoken to you,
when you have read something in a tract, or paper, which has compelled
you to pull up, and made you stand aghast for a while, has not all that had
a reference to this text, “How often, how often, how often would I have
gathered thee?” God knocks many times at some men’s doors. I know that
there is a call of his which is effectual; oh, that you might hear it! But there
are many other calls which come to men, of whom Christ says, “Many are
called, but few are chosen.” How often has he called you! I wish you
would try and reckon up how often the Almighty God has come to you,
and spread out his warm wide wings, and yet this has been true, “I would
have gathered you, but you would not.”
One more way in which God gathers men is by continuing still to hard
patience with them, and sending the same message to them. I am always
afraid that you, who hear me constantly, will get to feel, “We have heard
him so long and so often that he cannot say anything fresh.” Why, did I not
use to shake you, when first you heard me, and compel you to shed many
tear” in the early days of your coming to this house? And now, — well,
you can hear it all without a tremor; you are like the blacksmith’s dog, that
goes to sleep while the sparks are flying from the anvil. Down in
Southwark, at the place where they make the big boilers, a man has to get
inside to hold the hammer while they are riveting. There is an awful noise,
the first time that a man goes in he feels that he cannot stand it, and that he
will die; he loses his hearing, it is such a terrible din; but they tell me that,
after a while, some have been known even to go to sleep while the men
have been hammering. So it is in hearing the gospel; men grow hardened,
and that which was, at one time, a very powerful call, seems to be, at the
last, no call at all. Yet “till, here you are, and your hair is getting grey; here
you are, you have long passed the prime of life; here you are, you were in a
shipwreck once, or you had an accident, or you caught the fever; but you
did not die, and here you are, God still speaks to you, not saying, “Go,”
but “Come, come.” Christ has not yet said to you, “Depart, ye cursed,” but
he still cries, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.” This is how God calls, and how he gathers men by the pertinacity of his infinite compassion, in still inviting them to come unto
him that they may obtain eternal life.
III. Well, now, a third point, and a very important one is this, WHAT MEN NEED TO MAKE THEM COME TO GOD. According to the text, God does gather men; but what is wanted on their part? Our Savior said of those that rejected him, “Ye would not.”
What is wanted is, first, the real will to come to God. You have heard a
great deal, I dare say, about the wonderful faculty of free will. I have
already told you my opinion of free will; but it also happens that that is the
very thing that is wanted, a will towards that which is good. There is where
the sinner fails, what he needs is a real will. “Oh, yes!” men say, “we are
willing, we are willing.” But you are not willing; if we can get the real
truth, you are not willing; there is no true willingness in your hearts, for a
true willingness is a practical willingness. The man who is willing to come
to Christ says, “I must away with my sins, I must away with my self-righteousness, and I must seek him who alone can save me.”
Men talk about being willing to be saved, and dispute about free will; but
when it comes to actual practice, they are not willing. They have no heart
to repent, they will to keep on with their sin, they will to continue in their
self-righteousness; but they do not will, with any practical resolve, to come
to Christ. There is need of an immediate will. Every unconverted person
here is willing to come to Christ before he dies; I never met with a person
yet who was not; but are you willing to come to Christ now? That is the
point. “To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” But you
answer, “Our hearts are not hardened, we only ask for a little more time.”
A little more time for what? A little more time in which to go on rebelling
against God? A little more time in which to run the awful risk of eternal
destruction?
So, you see, it is a real will and an immediate will that is needed.
With some, it is a settled will that is wanted. Oh, yes, they are ready! They
feel directly the preacher begins to speak; they are impressed curing the
singing of the first hymn. There is a revival service, and in the after-meeting
they begin telling you what they have felt. Look at those people on
Wednesday. They have got over Monday and Tuesday with some little
“rumblings of heart”; but what about Wednesday? They are as cold as a
cucumber; every feeling that they had on Sunday is gone from them, they have no memory of it whatever. Their goodness is as the morning cloud,
and as the early dew it passes away. How some people do deceive us with
their good resolves, in which there is nothing at all, for there is no settled
will!
With others, what is lacking is a submissive will. Yes, they are willing to be
saved; but then they do not want to be saved by grace; they are not willing
to give themselves up altogether to the Savior; they will not renounce their
own righteousness, and submit themselves to the righteousness of Christ.
Well, that practically means that there is not any willingness at all, for
unless you accept God’s way of salvation, it is no use for you to talk about
your will. Here is the great evil that is destroying you, and that will destroy
you before long, and land you in hell: “Ye would not, ye would not.” Oh,
that God’s grace might come upon you, subduing and renewing your will,
and making you willing in the day of his power!
IV. My last point is a very solemn one. I shall not weary you with it. WHAT WILL BECOME OF MEN WHO ARE NOT GATHERED TO CHRIST? What will become of men of whom it continues to be said, “Ye would not?”
The text suggests to us two ways of answering the question. What
becomes of chicks that do not come to the shelter of the hen’s wings?
What becomes of chicks that are not gathered to the hen? Well, the hawk
devours some, and the cold nips others; they miss the warmth and comfort
that they might have had. That is something. If there were no hereafter, I
should like to be a Christian. If I had to die like a dog, the joy I find in
Christ would make me wish to be his follower. You are losers in this world
if you love not God; you are losers of peace, and comfort, and strength,
and hope, even now; but what will be your loss hereafter, with no wing to
cover you when the destroying angel is abroad, no feathers beneath which
you may hide when the dread thunderbolts of justice shall be launched, one
after another, from God’s right hand? You have no shelter, and
consequently no safety.
“He that hath made his refuge God,
Shall find a most secure abode,”
but he who has not that refuge shall be among the great multitude who will
call to the rocks and the mountains to fall upon them, to hide them from
the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. O sirs, I pray you, run not the awful risk of attempting to live without the shelter of God in Christ Jesus!
But the text suggests a second question, What became of Jerusalem in the
end? “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy
children together, but ye would not!” Well, what happened to Jerusalem,
after all? I invite you, who are without God, and without Christ, to read
Josephus, with the hope that he may be of service to you. What became of
the inhabitants of that guilty city of Jerusalem? Well, they crucified the
Lord of glory, and they hunted out his disciples, and yet they said to
themselves, “We live in the city of God, no harm can come to us; we have
the temple within our walls, and God will guard his own holy place.” But
very soon they tried to throw off the Roman yoke, and there were different
sets of zealots who determined to fight against the Romans, and they
murmured and complained, and began to fight amongst themselves.
Before the. Romans attacked Jerusalem, the inhabitants had begun to kill
one another. The city was divided by the various factions, three parties
took possession of different portions of the place, and they fought against
one another, night and day. This is what happens to ungodly men;
manhood breaks loose against itself, and when there are inward
contentions, one part of man’s soul fighting against another part, there is
an internal war of the most horrible kind. What is the poor wretch to do
who is at enmity with himself, one part of his nature saying, “Go,” another
part crying, “Go back,” and yet a third part shouting, “Stop where you
are?” Are there not many of you who are just like battle-fields trampled
with the hoofs of horses, torn up with the ruts made by the cannon wheels,
and stained with blood? Many a man’s heart is just like that. “Rest?” says
he, “that has gone from me long ago.” Look at him in the morning after a
drinking bout; look at him after he has been quarrelling with everybody;
look at the man who has been unfaithful to his wife, or that other man who
has been dishonest to his employer, or that other who is gambling away all
that he has. Why, how does he sleep, poor wretch? He does not rest; he
dreams, he starts, he is always in terror. I would not change places with
him, nay, not for five minutes. The depths of poverty, and an honest
conscience, are immeasurably superior to the greatest luxury in the midst
of sin. The man who is evidently without God begins to quarrel with
himself.
By-and-by, one morning, they who looked over the battlements of
Jerusalem cried, “The Romans are coming, in very deed they are marching
up towards the city.” Vespasian came with an army of 60,000 men, and,
after a while, Titus had thrown up mounds round about the city, so that no
one could come in or go out of it. He had surrounded it so completely that
they were all shut in. It was, as you remember, at the time of the Passover,
when the people had come from every part of the land, a million and more
of them; and he shut them all up in that little city. So, a time comes, with
guilty men, when they are shut up; this sometimes happens before they die,
they are shut up, they cannot have any pleasure in sin as they used to have,
and they have no hope. They seem cooped up altogether; they have not
been gathered by God’s love, but now, at last, they are gathered by an
avenging conscience, they are shut up in God’s justice.
I shall never forget being sent for, in my early days, to see a man who was
dying. As I entered the room, he greeted me with an oath; I was only a
youth, a pastor about seventeen and a half years of age, and he somewhat
staggered me. He would not lie down on his bed; he defied God; he said he
would not die. “Shall I pray for you? “I asked. I knelt down, and I had not
uttered many sentences before he cursed me in such dreadful language that
I started to my feet, and then again he cried, and begged me to pray with
him again, though it was not any good. He said, “It is no use; your prayer
will never be heard for me, I am damned already;” and the poor wretch
spoke as though he really were so, and were realizing it in his own soul. I
tried to persuade him to lie down upon his bed. It was of no avail; he
tramped up and down the room as fast as he could go, he knew that he
should die, but he could not die while he could keep on walking, and so he
kept on. Then again I must pray with him, and then would come another
awful burst of blasphemy, because it was not possible that the prayer
should be heard. It does not often happen that one sees a person quite as
bad as that; but there is a condition of heart that is not so visible, but which
is quite as sad, and which comes to men dying without Christ. They are
shut up; the Roman soldiers are, as it were, marching all round the city,
and there is no escape, and they begin to feel it, and so they die in despair.
But then, when the Roman soldiers did come, the woes of Jerusalem did
not end. There was a famine in the city, a famine so dreadful that what
Moses said wag fulfilled, and the tender and delicate woman ate the fruit of
her own body. They came to search the houses, because they thought there
was food there; and a woman brought out half of her own babe, and said, “Well, eat that, if you can,” and throughout the city, they fed upon one
another; and oh, when there is no God in the heart, what a famine it makes
in a man’s soul! How he longs for a something which he cannot find, and
that all the world cannot give him, even a mouthful to stay the ravenousness of his spirit’s hunger!
And this doom will be worse still in the next world. You know that
Jerusalem was utterly destroyed, not one stone was left upon another; and
this is what is to happen to you if you refuse your Savior, you will be
destroyed, you will be an eternal ruin, no temple of God, but an everlasting
ruin. Destroyed, — that is the punishment for you; destroyed from the
presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power, and so abiding for ever,
with no indwelling God, no hope, no comfort. How terrible will be your
doom unless you repent!
“Ye sinners, seek his grace
Whose wrath ye cannot bear;
Fly to the shelter of his cross,
And find salvation there.”
I pray you, do so, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake! Amen.

Hymn for Today:
“It Came upon the Midnight Clear” by Edmund H. Sears, 1810-1876
1. It came upon the midnight clear,
that glorious song of old,
from angels bending near the earth
to touch their harps of gold:
“Peace on the earth, good will to men,
from heaven’s all-gracious King.”
The world in solemn stillness lay,
to hear the angels sing.
2. Still through the cloven skies they come
with peaceful wings unfurled,
and still their heavenly music floats
o’er all the weary world;
above its sad and lowly plains,
they bend on hovering wing,
and ever o’er its Babel sounds
the blessed angels sing.
3. And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
whose forms are bending low,
who toil along the climbing way
with painful steps and slow,
look now! for glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road,
and hear the angels sing!
4. For lo! the days are hastening on,
by prophet seen of old,
when with the ever-circling years
shall come the time foretold
when peace shall over all the earth
its ancient splendors fling,
and the whole world send back the song
which now the angels sing.

Through the Bible in One Year:
Ruth 1 to 4
1 In the days when the Judges were governing, a famine occurred in the country and a certain man from Bethlehem of Judah went-he, his wife and his two sons — to live in the Plains of Moab.
2 The man was called Elimelech, his wife Naomi and his two sons Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem of Judah. Going to the Plains of Moab, they settled there.
3 Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and she and her two sons were left.
4 These married Moabite women: one was called Orpah and the other Ruth. They lived there for about ten years.
5 Mahlon and Chilion then both died too, and Naomi was thus bereft of her two sons and her husband.
6 She then decided to come back from the Plains of Moab with her daughters-in-law, having heard in the Plains of Moab that God had visited his people and given them food.
7 So, with her daughters-in-law, she left the place where she was living and they took the road back to Judah.
8 Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back, each of you to your mother’s house.
9 May Yahweh show you faithful love, as you have done to those who have died and to me. Yahweh grant that you may each find happiness with a husband!’ She then kissed them, but they began weeping loudly,
10 and said, ‘No, we shall go back with you to your people.’
11 ‘Go home, daughters,’ Naomi replied. ‘Why come with me? Have I any more sons in my womb to make husbands for you?
12 Go home, daughters, go, for I am now too old to marry again. Even if I said, “I still have a hope: I shall take a husband this very night and shall bear more sons,”
13 would you be prepared to wait for them until they were grown up? Would you refuse to marry for their sake? No, daughters, I am bitterly sorry for your sakes that the hand of Yahweh should have been raised against me.’
14 They started weeping loudly all over again; Orpah then kissed her mother-in-law and went back to her people. But Ruth stayed with her.
15 Naomi then said, ‘Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god. Go home, too; follow your sister-in-law.’
16 But Ruth said, ‘Do not press me to leave you and to stop going with you, for wherever you go, I shall go, wherever you live, I shall live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
17 Where you die, I shall die and there I shall be buried. Let Yahweh bring unnameable ills on me and worse ills, too, if anything but death should part me from you!’
18 Seeing that Ruth was determined to go with her, Naomi said no more.
19 The two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. Their arrival set the whole town astir, and the women said, ‘Can this be Naomi?’
20 To this she replied, ‘Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara, for Shaddai has made my lot bitter.
21 I departed full, and Yahweh has brought me home empty. Why, then, call me Naomi, since Yahweh has pronounced against me and Shaddai has made me wretched?’
22 This was how Naomi came home with her daughter-in-law, Ruth the Moabitess, on returning from the Plains of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
1 Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, well-to-do and of Elimelech’s clan. His name was Boaz.
2 Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, ‘Let me go into the fields and glean ears of corn in the footsteps of some man who will look on me with favour.’ She replied, ‘Go, daughter.’
3 So she set out and went to glean in the fields behind the reapers. Chance led her to a plot of land belonging to Boaz of Elimelech’s clan.
4 Boaz, as it happened, had just come from Bethlehem. ‘Yahweh be with you!’ he said to the reapers. ‘Yahweh bless you!’ they replied.
5 Boaz said to a servant of his who was in charge of the reapers, ‘To whom does this young woman belong?’
6 And the servant in charge of the reapers replied, ‘The girl is the Moabitess, the one who came back with Naomi from the Plains of Moab.
7 She said, “Please let me glean and pick up what falls from the sheaves behind the reapers.” Thus she came, and here she stayed, with hardly a rest from morning until now.’
8 Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Listen to me, daughter. You must not go gleaning in any other field. You must not go away from here. Stay close to my work-women.
9 Keep your eyes on whatever part of the field they are reaping and follow behind. I have forbidden my men to molest you. And if you are thirsty, go to the pitchers and drink what the servants have drawn.’
10 Ruth fell on her face, prostrated herself and said, ‘How have I attracted your favour, for you to notice me, who am only a foreigner?’
11 Boaz replied, ‘I have been told all about the way you have behaved to your mother-in-law since your husband’s death, and how you left your own father and mother and the land where you were born to come to a people of whom you previously knew nothing.
12 May Yahweh repay you for what you have done, and may you be richly rewarded by Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!’
13 She said, ‘My lord, I hope you will always look on me with favour! You have comforted and encouraged me, though I am not even the equal of one of your work-women.’
14 When it was time to eat, Boaz said to her, ‘Come and eat some of this bread and dip your piece in the vinegar.’ Ruth sat down beside the reapers and Boaz made a heap of roasted grain for her; she ate till her hunger was satisfied, and she had some left over.
15 When she had got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his work-people, ‘Let her glean among the sheaves themselves. Do not molest her.
16 And be sure you pull a few ears of corn out of the bundles and drop them. Let her glean them, and do not scold her.’
17 So she gleaned in the field till evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned and it came to about a bushel of barley.
18 Taking it with her, she went back to the town. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. Ruth also took out what she had kept after eating all she wanted, and gave that to her.
19 Her mother-in-law said, ‘Where have you been gleaning today? Where have you been working? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!’ Ruth told her mother-in-law in whose field she had been working. ‘The name of the man with whom I have been working today’ she said, ‘is Boaz.’
20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ‘May he be blessed by Yahweh who does not withhold his faithful love from living or dead! This man’, Naomi added, ‘is a close relation of ours. He is one of those who have the right of redemption over us.’
21 Ruth the Moabitess said to her mother-in-law, ‘He also said, “Stay with my work-people until they have finished my whole harvest.” ‘
22 Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, ‘It is better for you, daughter, to go with his work-women than to go to some other field where you might be ill-treated.’
23 So she stayed with Boaz’s work-women, and gleaned until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she went on living with her mother-in-law.
1 Her mother-in-law Naomi then said, ‘Daughter, is it not my duty to see you happily settled?
2 And Boaz, the man with whose work-women you were, is he not our kinsman? Tonight he will be winnowing the barley on the threshing-floor.
3 So wash and perfume yourself, put on your cloak and go down to the threshing-floor. Don’t let him recognise you while he is still eating and drinking.
4 But when he lies down, take note where he lies, then go and turn back the covering at his feet and lie down yourself. He will tell you what to do.’
5 Ruth said, ‘I shall do everything you tell me.’
6 So she went down to the threshing-floor and did everything her mother-in-law had told her.
7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking, he went off happily and lay down beside the pile of barley. Ruth then quietly went, turned back the covering at his feet and lay down.
8 In the middle of the night, he woke up with a shock and looked about him; and there lying at his feet was a woman.
9 ‘Who are you?’ he said; and she replied, ‘I am your servant Ruth. Spread the skirt of your cloak over your servant for you have the right of redemption over me.’
10 ‘May Yahweh bless you, daughter,’ he said, ‘for this second act of faithful love of yours is greater than the first, since you have not run after young men, poor or rich.
11 Don’t be afraid, daughter, I shall do everything you ask, since the people at the gate of my town all know that you are a woman of great worth.
12 But, though it is true that I have the right of redemption over you, you have a kinsman closer than myself.
13 Stay here for tonight and, in the morning, if he wishes to exercise his right over you, very well, let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to do so, then as Yahweh lives, I shall redeem you. Lie here till morning.’
14 So she lay at his feet till morning, but got up before the hour when one man can recognise another; and he thought, ‘It must not be known that this woman came to the threshing-floor.’
15 He then said, ‘Let me have the cloak you are wearing, hold it out!’ She held it out while he put six measures of barley into it and then loaded it on to her; and off she went to the town.
16 When Ruth got home, her mother-in-law asked her, ‘How did things go with you, daughter?’ She then told her everything that the man had done for her.
17 ‘He gave me these six measures of barley and said, “You must not go home empty-handed to your mother-in-law.” ‘
18 Naomi said, ‘Do nothing, daughter, until you see how things have gone; I am sure he will not rest until he has settled the matter this very day.’
1 Boaz, meanwhile, had gone up to the gate and sat down, and the relative of whom he had spoken then came by. Boaz said to him, ‘Here, my friend, come and sit down’; the man came and sat down.
2 Boaz then picked out ten of the town’s elders and said, ‘Sit down here’; they sat down.
3 Boaz then said to the man who had the right of redemption, ‘Naomi, who has come back from the Plains of Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother, Elimelech.
4 I thought I should tell you about this and say, “Acquire it in the presence of the men who are sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to use your right of redemption, redeem it; if you do not, tell me so that I know, for I am the only person to redeem it besides yourself, and I myself come after you.”‘
5 Boaz then said, ‘The day you acquire the field from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the man who has died, to perpetuate the dead man’s name in his inheritance.’
6 The man with the right of redemption then said, ‘I cannot use my right of redemption without jeopardising my own inheritance. Since I cannot use my right of redemption, exercise the right yourself.’
7 Now, in former times, it was the custom in Israel to confirm a transaction in matters of redemption or inheritance by one of the parties taking off his sandal and giving it to the other. This was how agreements were ratified in Israel.
8 So, when the man with the right of redemption said to Boaz, ‘Acquire it for yourself,’ he took off his sandal.
9 Boaz then said to the elders and all the people there, ‘Today you are witnesses that from Naomi I acquire everything that used to belong to Elimelech, and everything that used to belong to Mahlon and Chilion
10 and that I am also acquiring Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, to be my wife, to perpetuate the dead man’s name in his inheritance, so that the dead man’s name will not be lost among his brothers and at the gate of his town. Today you are witnesses to this.’
11 All the people at the gate said, ‘We are witnesses’; and the elders said, ‘May Yahweh make the woman about to enter your family like Rachel and Leah who together built up the House of Israel. Grow mighty in Ephrathah, be renowned in Bethlehem!
12 And through the children Yahweh will give you by this young woman, may your family be like the family of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.’
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. And when they came together, Yahweh made her conceive and she bore a son.
14 And the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be Yahweh who has not left you today without anyone to redeem you. May his name be praised in Israel!
15 The child will be a comfort to you and the prop of your old age, for he has been born to the daughter-in-law who loves you and is more to you than seven sons.’
16 And Naomi, taking the child, held him to her breast; and she it was who looked after him.
17 And the women of the neighbourhood gave him a name. ‘A son’, they said, ‘has been born to Naomi,’ and they called him Obed. This was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18 These are the descendants of Perez. Perez fathered Hezron,
19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab,
20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,
21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed,
22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.(New Jerusalem Bible)

Daily Office for Friday, January 27, 2012:
Psalm 40
1 [For the choirmaster Of David Psalm] I waited, I waited for Yahweh, then he stooped to me and heard my cry for help.
2 He pulled me up from the seething chasm, from the mud of the mire. He set my feet on rock, and made my footsteps firm.
3 He put a fresh song in my mouth, praise of our God. Many will be awestruck at the sight, and will put their trust in Yahweh.
4 How blessed are those who put their trust in Yahweh, who have not sided with rebels and those who have gone astray in falsehood.
5 How much you have done, Yahweh, my God — your wonders, your plans for us — you have no equal. I will proclaim and speak of them; they are beyond number.
6 You wanted no sacrifice or cereal offering, but you gave me an open ear, you did not ask for burnt offering or sacrifice for sin;
7 then I said, ‘Here I am, I am coming.’ In the scroll of the book it is written of me,
8 my delight is to do your will; your law, my God, is deep in my heart.
9 I proclaimed the saving justice of Yahweh in the great assembly. See, I will not hold my tongue, as you well know.
10 I have not kept your saving justice locked in the depths of my heart, but have spoken of your constancy and saving help. I have made no secret of your faithful and steadfast love, in the great assembly.
11 You, Yahweh, have not withheld your tenderness from me; your faithful and steadfast love will always guard me.
12 For troubles surround me, until they are beyond number; my sins have overtaken me; I cannot see my way. They outnumber the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me.
13 Be pleased, Yahweh, to rescue me, Yahweh, come quickly and help me!
14 Shame and dismay to all who seek to take my life. Back with them, let them be humiliated who delight in my misfortunes.
15 Let them be aghast with shame, those who say to me, ‘Aha, aha!’
16 But joy and happiness in you to all who seek you! Let them ceaselessly cry, ‘Great is Yahweh’ who love your saving power.
17 Poor and needy as I am, the Lord has me in mind. You, my helper, my Saviour, my God, do not delay.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 54
1 [For the choirmaster On stringed instruments Poem Of David When the Ziphites went to Saul and said,'Is not David hiding with us?'] God, save me by your name, in your power vindicate me.
2 God, hear my prayer, listen to the words I speak.
3 Arrogant men are attacking me, bullies hounding me to death, no room in their thoughts for God.Pause
4 But now God is coming to my help, the Lord, among those who sustain me.
5 May their wickedness recoil on those who lie in wait for me. Yahweh, in your constancy destroy them.
6 How gladly will I offer you sacrifice, and praise your name, for it is good,
7 for it has rescued me from all my troubles, and my eye has feasted on my enemies.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 51
1 [For the choirmaster Of David When the prophet Nathan had come to him because he had gone to Bathsheba] Have mercy on me, O God, in your faithful love, in your great tenderness wipe away my offences;
2 wash me clean from my guilt, purify me from my sin.
3 For I am well aware of my offences, my sin is constantly in mind.
4 Against you, you alone, I have sinned, I have done what you see to be wrong, that you may show your saving justice when you pass sentence, and your victory may appear when you give judgement,
5 remember, I was born guilty, a sinner from the moment of conception.
6 But you delight in sincerity of heart, and in secret you teach me wisdom.
7 Purify me with hyssop till I am clean, wash me till I am whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness, and the bones you have crushed will dance.
9 Turn away your face from my sins, and wipe away all my guilt.
10 God, create in me a clean heart, renew within me a resolute spirit,
11 do not thrust me away from your presence, do not take away from me your spirit of holiness.
12 Give me back the joy of your salvation, sustain in me a generous spirit.
13 I shall teach the wicked your paths, and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, God, God of my salvation, and my tongue will acclaim your saving justice.
15 Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will speak out your praise.
16 Sacrifice gives you no pleasure, burnt offering you do not desire.
17 Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, a broken, contrite heart you never scorn.
18 In your graciousness do good to Zion, rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in upright sacrifices,-burnt offerings and whole oblations — and young bulls will be offered on your altar.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Genesis 17:15-27
15 Furthermore God said to Abraham, ‘As regards your wife Sarai, you must not call her Sarai, but Sarah.
16 I shall bless her and moreover give you a son by her. I shall bless her and she will become nations: kings of peoples will issue from her.’
17 Abraham bowed to the ground, and he laughed, thinking to himself, ‘Is a child to be born to a man one hundred years old, and will Sarah have a child at the age of ninety?’
18 Abraham said to God, ‘May Ishmael live in your presence! That will be enough!’
19 But God replied, ‘Yes, your wife Sarah will bear you a son whom you must name Isaac. And I shall maintain my covenant with him, a covenant in perpetuity, to be his God and the God of his descendants after him.
20 For Ishmael too I grant you your request. I hereby bless him and will make him fruitful and exceedingly numerous. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I shall make him into a great nation.
21 But my covenant I shall maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear you at this time next year.’
22 When he had finished speaking to Abraham, God went up from him.
23 Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, all the slaves born in his household or whom he had bought, in short all the males among the people of Abraham’s household, and circumcised their foreskins that same day, as God had said to him.
24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when his foreskin was circumcised.
25 Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when his foreskin was circumcised.
26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day,
27 and all the men of his household, those born in the household and those bought from foreigners, were circumcised with him.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Hebrews 10:11-25
11 Every priest stands at his duties every day, offering over and over again the same sacrifices which are quite incapable of taking away sins.
12 He, on the other hand, has offered one single sacrifice for sins, and then taken his seat for ever, at the right hand of God,
13 where he is now waiting till his enemies are made his footstool.
14 By virtue of that one single offering, he has achieved the eternal perfection of all who are sanctified.
15 The Holy Spirit attests this to us, for after saying:
16 No, this is the covenant I will make with them, when those days have come. the Lord says: In their minds I will plant my Laws writing them on their hearts,
17 and I shall never more call their sins to mind, or their offences.
18 When these have been forgiven, there can be no more sin offerings.
19 We have then, brothers, complete confidence through the blood of Jesus in entering the sanctuary,
20 by a new way which he has opened for us, a living opening through the curtain, that is to say, his flesh.
21 And we have the high priest over all the sanctuary of God.
22 So as we go in, let us be sincere in heart and filled with faith, our hearts sprinkled and free from any trace of bad conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us keep firm in the hope we profess, because the one who made the promise is trustworthy.
24 Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works.
25 Do not absent yourself from your own assemblies, as some do, but encourage each other; the more so as you see the Day drawing near.(New Jerusalem Bible)
John 6:1-15
1 After this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee — or of Tiberias-
2 and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he had done in curing the sick.
3 Jesus climbed the hillside and sat down there with his disciples.
4 The time of the Jewish Passover was near.
5 Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’
6 He said this only to put Philip to the test; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would not buy enough to give them a little piece each.’
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said,
9 ‘Here is a small boy with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that among so many?’
10 Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down.
11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were sitting there; he then did the same with the fish, distributing as much as they wanted.
12 When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing is wasted.’
13 So they picked them up and filled twelve large baskets with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves.
14 Seeing the sign that he had done, the people said, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’
15 Jesus, as he realised they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, fled back to the hills alone.(New Jerusalem Bible)
[Lydia, Dorcas & Phoebe]
Psalm 100
1 [Psalm For thanksgiving] Acclaim Yahweh, all the earth,
2 serve Yahweh with gladness, come into his presence with songs of joy!
3 Be sure that Yahweh is God, he made us, we belong to him, his people, the flock of his sheepfold.
4 Come within his gates giving thanks, to his courts singing praise, give thanks to him and bless his name!
5 For Yahweh is good, his faithful love is everlasting, his constancy from age to age.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Malachi 3:16-18
16 Then those who feared Yahweh talked to one another about this, and Yahweh took note and listened; and a book of remembrance was written in his presence recording those who feared him and kept his name in mind.
17 ‘On the day when I act, says Yahweh Sabaoth, they will be my most prized possession, and I shall spare them in the way a man spares the son who serves him.
18 Then once again you will see the difference between the upright person and the wicked one, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve him.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Acts 16:11-15
11 Sailing from Troas we made a straight run for Samothrace; the next day for Neapolis,
12 and from there for Philippi, a Roman colony and the principal city of that district of Macedonia.
13 After a few days in this city we went outside the gates beside a river as it was the Sabbath and this was a customary place for prayer. We sat down and preached to the women who had come to the meeting.
14 One of these women was called Lydia, a woman from the town of Thyatira who was in the purple-dye trade, and who revered God. She listened to us, and the Lord opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying.
15 After she and her household had been baptised she kept urging us, ‘If you judge me a true believer in the Lord,’ she said, ‘come and stay with us.’ And she would take no refusal.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Luke 8:1-3
1 Now it happened that after this he made his way through towns and villages preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. With him went the Twelve,
2 as well as certain women who had been cured of evil spirits and ailments: Mary surnamed the Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
3 Joanna the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their own resources.(New Jerusalem Bible)
John Chrysostom (date provisionally moved to Sept. 13)
Psalm 49:1-8
1 [For the choirmaster Of the sons of Korah Psalm] Hear this, all nations, listen, all who dwell on earth,
2 people high and low, rich and poor alike!
3 My lips have wisdom to utter, my heart good sense to whisper.
4 I listen carefully to a proverb, I set my riddle to the music of the harp.
5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble? Malice dogs me and hems me in.
6 They trust in their wealth, and boast of the profusion of their riches.
7 But no one can ever redeem himself or pay his own ransom to God,
8 the price for himself is too high; it can never be(New Jeremiah Bible)
Jeremiah 42:1-6
1 Then all the military leaders, in particular Johanan son of Kareah and Azariah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from least to greatest, approached
2 the prophet Jeremiah and said, ‘Please hear our petition and intercede with Yahweh your God for us and for all this remnant — and how few of us are left out of many, your own eyes can see-
3 so that Yahweh your God may show us the way we are to go and what we must do.’
4 The prophet Jeremiah replied, ‘I hear you; I will indeed pray to Yahweh your God as you ask; and whatever answer Yahweh your God gives you, I will tell you, keeping nothing back from you.’
5 They in their turn said to Jeremiah, ‘May Yahweh be a true and faithful witness against us, if we do not follow the instructions that Yahweh your God sends us through you.
6 Whether we like it or not, we shall obey the voice of Yahweh our God to whom we are sending you, so that we may prosper by obeying the voice of Yahweh our God.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
1 Corinthians 12:31–13:7
31 Set your mind on the higher gifts. And now I am going to put before you the best way of all.
1 Though I command languages both human and angelic — if I speak without love, I am no more than a gong booming or a cymbal clashing.
2 And though I have the power of prophecy, to penetrate all mysteries and knowledge, and though I have all the faith necessary to move mountains — if I am without love, I am nothing.
3 Though I should give away to the poor all that I possess, and even give up my body to be burned — if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever.
4 Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited,
5 it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances.
6 Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth.
7 It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Luke 21:12-15
12 ‘But before all this happens, you will be seized and persecuted; you will be handed over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and brought before kings and governors for the sake of my name
13 -and that will be your opportunity to bear witness.
14 Make up your minds not to prepare your defence,
15 because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict.(New Jerusalem Bible)
2 Samuel 11:1-17
1 At the turn of the year, at the time when kings go campaigning, David sent Joab and with him his guards and all Israel. They massacred the Ammonites and laid siege to Rabbah-of-the-Ammonites. David, however, remained in Jerusalem.
2 It happened towards evening when David had got up from resting and was strolling on the palace roof, that from the roof he saw a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful.
3 David made enquiries about this woman and was told, ‘Why, that is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite.’
4 David then sent messengers to fetch her. She came to him, and he lay with her, just after she had purified herself from her period. She then went home again.
5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, ‘I am pregnant.’
6 David then sent word to Joab, ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite,’ whereupon Joab sent Uriah to David.
7 When Uriah reached him, David asked how Joab was and how the army was and how the war was going.
8 David then said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house and wash your feet.’ Uriah left the palace and was followed by a present from the king’s table.
9 Uriah, however, slept at the palace gate with all his master’s bodyguard and did not go down to his house.
10 This was reported to David; ‘Uriah’, they said ‘has not gone down to his house.’ So David asked Uriah, ‘Haven’t you just arrived from the journey? Why didn’t you go down to your house?’
11 To which Uriah replied, ‘The ark, Israel and Judah are lodged in huts; my master Joab and my lord’s guards are camping in the open. Am I to go to my house, then, and eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As Yahweh lives, and as you yourself live, I shall so no such thing!’
12 David then said to Uriah, ‘Stay on here today; tomorrow I shall send you off.’ So Uriah stayed that day in Jerusalem.
13 The next day, David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk. In the evening, Uriah went out and bedded down with his master’s bodyguard, but did not go down to his house.
14 Next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah.
15 In the letter he wrote, ‘Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest and then fall back, so that he gets wounded and killed.’
16 Joab, then besieging the city, stationed Uriah at a point where he knew that there would be tough fighters.
17 The people of the city sallied out and engaged Joab; there were casualties in the army, among David’s guards, and Uriah the Hittite was killed as well.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 51:1-10
1 [For the choirmaster Of David When the prophet Nathan had come to him because he had gone to Bathsheba] Have mercy on me, O God, in your faithful love, in your great tenderness wipe away my offences;
2 wash me clean from my guilt, purify me from my sin.
3 For I am well aware of my offences, my sin is constantly in mind.
4 Against you, you alone, I have sinned, I have done what you see to be wrong, that you may show your saving justice when you pass sentence, and your victory may appear when you give judgement,
5 remember, I was born guilty, a sinner from the moment of conception.
6 But you delight in sincerity of heart, and in secret you teach me wisdom.
7 Purify me with hyssop till I am clean, wash me till I am whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness, and the bones you have crushed will dance.
9 Turn away your face from my sins, and wipe away all my guilt.
10 God, create in me a clean heart, renew within me a resolute spirit,(New Jerusalem Bible)
Mark 4:26-34
26 He also said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the land.
27 Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know.
28 Of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
29 And when the crop is ready, at once he starts to reap because the harvest has come.’
30 He also said, ‘What can we say that the kingdom is like? What parable can we find for it?
31 It is like a mustard seed which, at the time of its sowing, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth.
32 Yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.’
33 Using many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, so far as they were capable of understanding it.
34 He would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were by themselves.(New Jerusalem Bible)

Friday, 27 January 2012
Friday of the Third week in Ordinary Time
Saint(s) of the day:St. Angela Merici, Virgin (c. 1470-1540)
Commentary of the day:
Saint Ambrose (c.340-397), Bishop of Milan and Doctor of the Church
Commentary on Saint Luke’s Gospel, VII, 179-182 ; SC 52
Christ sown in the earth
It was in a garden that Christ was both arrested and buried: he grew in this garden and there he was also brought back to life. Thus he became a tree… You too, then, should sow Christ in your garden… With Christ grind the mustard seed, tread it down and sow faith. Faith is hard pressed when we believe in Christ crucified. Paul pressed faith hard when he said: «When I came to you proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified» (1Cor 2,1-2)… Now, we sow faith when we believe in the Lord’s Passion following the Gospel or the readings from the apostles and prophets. In a manner of speaking, we sow faith when we cover it with soil that has been dug over and broken up with the flesh of the Lord… For whoever has believed that the Son of God became man believes that he died for us and believes that he was raised for us. Therefore, I am sowing faith when I set the sepulchre of Christ in the middle of my garden.
Do you want to know that Christ is a seed and that it is he who is sown? «Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies it bears much fruit» (Jn 12,24)… It is Christ himself who says so. So he is both a grain of wheat since he «fortifies the hearts of men» (Ps 104[103],15), and a mustard seed, since he warms men’s hearts… He is a grain of wheat when it is a matter of his resurrection, since the Word of God and the proof of his resurrection nourish the soul, increase hope and strengthen love – for Christ is «the bread of God come down from heaven» (Jn 6,33). And he is a mustard seed because there is no more bitterness or harshness in speaking about the Passion of the Lord.

1st Thought for Today:
My Utmost for His Highest
Reading for Friday 27th January 2012
LOOK AGAIN AND THINK by Oswald Chambers
Take no thought for your life.(Matthew 6:25)
A warning which needs to be reiterated is that the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, will choke all that God puts in. We are never free from the recurring tides of this encroachment. If it does not come on the line of clothes and food, it will come on the line of money or lack of money; of friends or lack of friends; or on the line of difficult circumstances. It is one steady encroachment all the time, and unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise up the standard against it, these things will come in like a flood.
“Take no thought for your life.” “Be careful about one thing only,” says our Lord – “your relationship to Me.” Common sense shouts loud and says – “That is absurd, I must consider how I am going to live, I must consider what I am going to eat and drink.” Jesus says you must not. Beware of allowing the thought that this statement is made by One Who does not understand our particular circumstances. Jesus Christ knows our circumstances better than we do, and He says we must not think about these things so as to make them the one concern of our life. Whenever there is competition, be sure that you put your relationship to God first.
“Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” How much evil has begun to threaten you to-day? What kind of mean little imps have been looking in and saying – Now what are you going to do next month – this summer? “Be anxious for nothing,” Jesus says. Look again and think. Keep your mind on the “much more” of your heavenly Father.

Reflecting God-”Oh God, Restore Us!”
Friday, January 27, 2012
Scripture-Psalm 60
1 [For the choirmaster To the tune 'The decree is a lily' In a quiet voice Of David To be learnt When he was at war with Aram-Naharaim and Aram-Zobah, and Joab marched back to destroy twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt] God, you have rejected us, broken us, you were angry, come back to us!
2 You made the earth tremble, split it open; now mend the rifts, it is tottering still.
3 You have forced your people to drink a bitter draught, forced us to drink a wine that made us reel.
4 You gave a signal to those who fear you to let them escape out of range of the bow.Pause
5 To rescue those you love, save with your right hand and answer us.
6 God has spoken from his sanctuary, ‘In triumph I will divide up Shechem, and share out the Valley of Succoth.
7 ‘Mine is Gilead, mine Manasseh, Ephraim the helmet on my head, Judah my commander’s baton,
8 ‘Moab a bowl for me to wash in, on Edom I plant my sandal. Now try shouting “Victory!” over me, Philistia!’
9 Who will lead me against a fortified city, who will guide me into Edom,
10 if not you, the God who has rejected us? God, you no longer march with our armies.
11 Bring us help in our time of crisis, any human help is worthless.
12 With God we shall do deeds of valour, he will trample down our enemies.(New Jerusalem Bible)
“Oh God, Restore Us!” by Gerald Crispin
Have you ever been angry at someone? Has anyone ever been angry at you? I know that may sound like an obvious question, but stop and think about it. No matter how angry you may have become, or how angry someone has become with you, how can it compare to the anger of a holy God toward those who willfully turn away from him–those who do not fear him. By “fear” I do not mean “being afraid” of God: I mean not respecting him.
David knew that truth all to well. God’s anger had shaken and torn the land. That is why David pleads to God, to “to restore us”(verse 1).
We all get angry from time to time, sometimes we have a good reason and sometimes not. One difference between God and us is that he always has a good reason. Another difference is God’s willingness to forgive us when we ask him in genuine sorrow for our sin. He will restore us and make us new. No one else can do that.
Let us call upon God, he will forgive us, with him we will gain the victory!
Hymn for Today:
“Revive Us Again” by William P. Mackay
1. We praise Thee, O God!
For the Son of Thy love,
For Jesus Who died,
And is now gone above.
Refrain:
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.
2. We praise Thee, O God!
For Thy Spirit of light,
Who hath shown us our Savior,
And scattered our night.
Refrain:
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.
3. All glory and praise
To the Lamb that was slain,
Who hath borne all our sins,
And hath cleansed every stain.
Refrain:
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.
4. All glory and praise
To the God of all grace,
Who hast brought us, and sought us,
And guided our ways.
Refrain:
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.
5. Revive us again;
Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above.
2nd Thought for Today:
“First [God's] will and then [God's] work”(Neil B. Wiseman).
Prayer Needs:
Developing Christian leaders in the United Kingdom.

The Upper Room Daily Devotional
Friday, January 27, 2012
One Day at a Time
Suggested Bible Reading:
Read Lamentations 3:21-26
21 This is what I shall keep in mind and so regain some hope:
22 Surely Yahweh’s mercies are not over, his deeds of faithful love not exhausted;
23 every morning they are renewed; great is his faithfulness!
24 ‘Yahweh is all I have,’ I say to myself, ‘and so I shall put my hope in him.’
25 Yahweh is good to those who trust him, to all who search for him.
26 It is good to wait in silence for Yahweh to save.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.(Isaiah 41:10 (NIV))
Today’s Devotional
“One day at a time.” That is my favorite saying as I live as a cancer survivor. Whether I am working at my job as an assistant high-school principal or officiating on the sports field, living one day at time has many implications; but the most important is that I need God to get me through each day no matter what I am doing or confronting.
On difficult days at school, I may pray for help as I work with a problem student. On the sports field, I ask God to help me make the right call. And as a cancer survivor, I thank God each day for my life.
For Christians, “one day at time” can mean starting and ending the day with Christ, whether it is through prayer and reading the Bible or listening to others as they witness to their faith through meditations in The Upper Room. Nahum 1:7 says: “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.” Our Creator is present with each and every one of us, every day of our lives. by Peter Perich (New Hampshire, USA)
3rd Thought for the Day: To see a photo of Peter officiating on the sports field, go to www.upperroom.org.
Prayer: Healer of the sick, teach us to come to you continually in prayer. Be with us as we leave our worries with you, and give us the courage to face each day — one hour, one minute at a time. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Those living with cancer
The scripture quotation, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2012 by The Upper Room, a ministry of GBOD. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or redistribute without written permission from the publisher.

Daily Meditation: Wisdom — January 27, 2012
Center for Action and Contemplation
WISDOM
“All that is hidden, all that is plain, I have come to know, instructed by Wisdom who designed them all.”(Wisdom 7:21-22)
The irony of ego “consciousness” is that it always excludes and eliminates the unconscious—so it is actually not conscious at all! It insists on knowing, of being certain, and it refuses all unknowing. So most people who think they are fully conscious (read: “smart”) have that big leaden manhole covering their unconscious. It gives them control but seldom compassion or wisdom. That is exactly why politicians, priests, CEOs of anything, and know-it-alls must continue to fail and fall (spiritually speaking) or they will never come to any real wisdom. The trouble is that we have to put up with them in the meantime and wait for another growth spurt. Sometimes that very power position makes failing and falling quite rare and even impossible for them. From A Lever and a Place to Stand:
The Contemplative Stance, the Active Prayer, p. x (foreword)
Starter Prayer:
Grant me wisdom. by Father Richard Rohr

4th Thought for Today:
Friday January 27, 2012
Healing Our Hearts Through Forgiveness
How can we forgive those who do not want to be forgiven? Our deepest desire is that the forgiveness we offer will be received. This mutuality between giving and receiving is what creates peace and harmony. But if our condition for giving forgiveness is that it will be received, we seldom will forgive! Forgiving the other is first and foremost an inner movement. It is an act that removes anger, bitterness, and the desire for revenge from our hearts and helps us to reclaim our human dignity. We cannot force those we want to forgive into accepting our forgiveness. They might not be able or willing do so. They may not even know or feel that they have wounded us.
The only people we can really change are ourselves. Forgiving others is first and foremost healing our own hearts. by Father Henri J. M. Nouwen

5th Thought for Today:
Friday 27 January 2012
Awakening the Beautiful
Power and strength can separate people; whereas weakness and recognition of weakness and the cry for help brings people together. When you are weak, you need people. It’s very easy. When you are strong you don’t need people, you can do everything on your own. So, somewhere the weak person calls people together. And when the weak call forth the strong, what happens is they awaken what is most beautiful in a human person–compassion, goodness, openness to another and so on. Our weakness brings people together. by Jean Vanier
Belonging: The Search for Acceptance
Windborne Production Video

1.27.12 – “Everything that has been created by God is good” from The Church of the Resurrection-United Methodist in Leawood, Kansas, United States
Daily Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:3 “they forbid marriage and prohibit foods which God created to be accepted with thanksgiving by all who believe and who know the truth.
4 Everything God has created is good, and no food is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving:
5 the word of God and prayer make it holy.
6 If you put all this to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus and show that you have really digested the teaching of the faith and the good doctrine which you have always followed.”(New Jerusalem Bible)
Reflection Questions:
Some early Christians were tempted to adopt ascetic Greek philosophies like Stoicism, which forbade all sex, as a shield from impurity. The idea that unmarried, celibate Christians are automatically holier than others has continued through the centuries. Not so, Paul warned Timothy. Marriage is a good gift from God, one to honor, celebrate and enjoy.
Paul did not say “everything is good,” but “everything God created is good.” He was answering false teachers who forbade marriage, and imposed strict dietary rules. How can we tell the difference between good things God created, and behaviors or attitudes that may “feel” spiritual, but reflect our brokenness rather than God’s good purposes?
William Barclay wrote that, throughout the history of Christianity, some people have “tried to be stricter than God.” Which do you find to be more of a struggle for you: being too strict, or not being strict enough? How can gratitude for God’s gifts, and a commitment to live by the values in God’s word, help you grow past either struggle?
Weekly Prayer:
Lord God, “a man embraces his wife, and they become one flesh”? Wow—Genesis said the first human couple were really strongly attracted to each other! Sometimes I have that sense, too, but so many things (grief, illness, betrayal, unresolved childhood hurts, even just human brokenness in one or both partners) can go wrong. This week, teach me about the joy, bonding and sharing of life that “good sex,” sex as you intend it to be, can bring to our lives. Amen.
Friday 1.27.12 Insight from Darren Lippe
Darren Lippe helps facilitate Journey 101 “Loving God” classes, guides a 3rd grade Sunday school class, is a member of a small group & a men’s group, and serves on the Curriculum team.
As we consider today’s passage from Paul’s letter to Timothy, let’s play a little Family Feud, “old school.” Take it away, Richard:
First question: Roughly 8/10 adults are dissatisfied with what?
Survey says the number one answer is: Their physical appearance &/or weight.
Second question: Over 5/10 adults list this issue as a constant top concern.
Survey says: Their physical health.
Final question: 8/7 adults say this was the toughest subject in elementary school.
Survey says: Fractions.
As we reflect on the first 2 survey answers, it really isn’t surprising that, like the folks in Paul’s day, there is a tremendous temptation to view our physical bodies as creation’s weakest link.
This viewpoint is pervasive, regardless of age. Youngsters want to look more mature, want to be taller/shorter, want curlier/straighter hair, or want the latest smart phone. (Huh? – Editor. Well, not all teenage angst is limited to just physical appearance- they occasionally branch out to other areas just to mix it up.)
We adults aren’t immune to this temptation either. We miss the luxuriant hair of yesterday, we get frustrated when we can’t eat spicy foods late in the day, we get angry that our arms are too short to read a simple menu, and we’d love to see a re-make of a classic movie or TV show that was half as good as the original.
However, while our physical bodies fail to meet our expectations in many ways, we would be remiss to think that God agrees with us. It is no accident that God deliberately chose to have the Word made flesh and, as evidenced by the empty tomb, that God intends to redeem our entire being. God views our bodies as worthy of His kingdom & revels in the idea that we are made in His image.
While we see wrinkles, God sees laugh lines & great memories. While we struggle to keep the pace with the younger hikers, God lets us use these pauses to savor the journey. While we envy the energy younger colleagues bring to the work force, God relishes the experience we can bring to the table to help decision-making be more effective.
So what are we to do? Perhaps we could resist the temptation to worship our physical appearance and, instead, choose to honor God by properly caring for our body through diet, exercise & rest. As we submit our bodies to God & His Kingdom, we might just find that this helps put our health concerns in better perspective as well.
Bonus Question: How did God describe creation after the 6th day?
Survey Says: “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was very good.” Good answer! Good answer! (Clapping.)
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

Sermon for Today:
Belief In the Resurrection by Charles H. Spurgeon
NO. 3452 PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, APRIL 1ST, 1915. DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON. ON THURSDAY EVENING, SEPT. 15TH, 1870.
“He is risen.”(Mark 16:6)
OUR Lord always told his disciples that he would rise. They were astonished to hear that he would die at all: they could not think it possible that he could die by the terrible death which he often hinted at. Had they understood and really believed that he would rise again, they might not have been so surprised at his death, but often as he spoke of it, their minds seemed to have been like their eyes on some occasions, holden that they should not see, and if they perceived his meaning, it ran so contrary to all their ideas of a kingdom for a Messiah, that they could not somehow grasp it as a reality.
Now one of the first things that strikes the reader of the chapter before us shall furnish us with our first head of contemplation tonight: —
I. THE ALMOST UNIVERSAL POWER OF UNBELIEF IN THE CHURCH.
This is a good instance to illustrate a general fact, for our Savior had to their ears in plain terms told them he would rise again. Yet on the third day not one that we know of expected him to rise. When they were informed that he had risen, by eye-witnesses, by persons whom they had been accustomed to treat as deserving of all credence, persons with whom they had been long acquainted, they, everyone of them, were incredulous: they could not believe it, though it were testified to them again and again. As you read this chapter through, you meet with first one instance and then another of this general incredulity about a thing on which all ought to have been sound believers. You find, first, the women — very tender, very
loving, always accustomed to minister to Christ’s necessities in the days of his flesh: now their very love leads them to an unbelieving act. If he be risen, and he said he would rise, what need of grave-cloths, what need of precious ointments, and spikenard, and spice, in which to embalm him? ‘Twas love that said “Embalm him,” but ‘twas unbelieving love that made them think the thing was necessary to be done.
All through those tender hearts, wherein so much of heavenly ardor for Christ was found, there was also found this leaven of mischief. But the men — the strong sex, will not they also, their hearts being full of love, and having walked with Christ, having strong judgments many of them, having noticed and weighed what he said, will not they believe? No! Peter and John, though they come to the sepulcher come there with heavy hearts, evidently with no expectation such as would have been excited by the belief that Christ had risen. The whole brotherhood of the disciples appear to have gone altogether over to an unbelief of the thought that Jesus Christ would rise. But there were some favored ones — there were the eleven. These were the elect out of the elect, the spiritual lifeguard, the very bodyguard of the Savior. Surely, if faith be extinct everywhere else, we shall find it in them. They were in the garden at his passion, some of them were on Labor at his transfiguration, three of them, at any rate, were in the chamber where he raised the dead. They had seen his miracles, they had themselves distributed the bread which by a miraculous power he had multiplied for the feeding of the multitude. They had seen him walk the sea — one of them had himself trodden on the liquid wave, and found it marble beneath his feet when Christ had bidden him come. They had marked the tempest hushed, they had seen devils expelled, many marvellous displays of divine power had they all of them beheld. These choice ones, especially those three mighty, those chosen three, would believe! Yet they also were tinctured with this same evil; they had not such a faith in their Master as they should have had.
And now this was but, I think, a portrait of what has been ever since the great mischief in the Church of God. This sin of sins — unbelief — is still at this very hour too common among the people of God. Suppose I talk to the mass of God’s people, the quiet, humble people, who go about their business and serve God in their households. Shall I find them all full of faith, giving glory to God? No, I am not long with some of them but I hear their doubts as to whether they are his or not. I hear some of them singing:
“Do I love the Lord or no;
Am I his, or am I not?”
True, I see many of them happy and joyful, contented and trustful, but not always so, even they. Sometimes even these seem to give way to fears and suspicions, and they half think that he has forgotten to be gracious — will be mindful of them no more. Truly is it written, “If the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith upon the earth?” He may look for it, and look for it long,for amongst his own believing people. yet is faith all too rare a thing — hard to be discovered. It is true it is in its essence always in the Church, but yet so feeble that oftentimes the fire is rather that which trembles in the smoking flax, and almost expires, than the spark that seeks the sun, the Father, the flame from which at first it came.
Now suppose I turn away from the mass of Christians, and select for myself those that take once in Christ’s Church, appointed by him, gifted, anti given, as the result of tile ascension, to the Church as the Church’s treasure. My brethren, what shall I say about deacons, elders, and such like in the Church of God? How find I you? Do I not discover oftentimes in church officers a slackness of enterprise, a fear lest this should be too great a thing or that too venturesome? Have I not heard — though certainly I may say I have not experienced have I not heard that sometimes those that should lead the Church have held her back, and those that should be first and foremost to sustain the Christian ministry in every holy effort, have they not been sometimes a very drag upon the wheels to hinder it? And if it be so in their official acting, I fear it is not much better in their own private capacity before God. Alas! O Israel, thy captains are weak; thy mighty men tremble.
But suppose I select those God has especially favored and made the winners of souls. Do I find these at all times confident in the God whose gospel they proclaim? Are they always calmly reliant, upon that eternal power which has ordained them to their work? We must, each man, speak for himself; but I fear the most of us might take up a wailing for ourselves, and confess that we also too often must say, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” The prayer of the apostles is a suitable prayer for ministers, “Lord increase our faith” For, if our faith be not increased, we cannot expect that the faith of the multitude will be. Christ’s ministers ought to be to Christ’s army a sort of spiritual Uhlans, that ride on ahead to investigate the country. to take hold of it before the main body comes up. They should be the men to lead the forlorn hope; they should be first in the trench whenever a citadel is to be taken by storm. Their hearts should never fail them; they should be men of large conceptions and bold designs: men to fall back upon the Infinite, and rely upon the unseen. Are we always such, or such to such a degree as we ought to be? No, I fear that the chapter church history which is being now written is, in the sight of God, much blotted by the unbelief of all his people. Faith there is — I bless God for it — and in some cases very eminent faith; but taking us all round, alas! we must make up a sorrowful confession of our shortcomings in the matter of our faith in the living God. Now, turning to the chapter again, we shall get our second point of consideration: —
II. THE GREAT CURE WHICH OUR LORD PRESCRIBED FOR THE MATTER OF UNBELIEF.
As far as this chapter goes, it lies in the fact that he is risen He is risen from the dead. You will observe everywhere here, where we meet with the unbelief of man, we meet with the fact of the resurrection of Christ brought in like light to subdue the darkness. Here are the women in difficulties: it is the resurrection of Christ that removes the difficulty. Who shall roll us away the stone? The stone is rolled away because Christ is risen. The angel has taken away the stone door of the prison house because it was time that the captive should go free. Now here the Lord seems to tell us that the best and grandest cure of all our fear about difficulty lies in this, “The Lord is risen.” You serve a living Savior. What is the difficulty? Is it a providential one? the is the Master of providence, for “the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful, the Counsellor, the Mighty God.” That difficulty, then, which would obstruct you in your pathway to heaven, if you trust in him, must vanish because Jesus lives. If the Captain of the host were dead, it would be an ill thing for us to be serving a dead Captain, but since he dives, girt with omnipotence, difficulties must vanish before him. Does it happen that the difficulty which troubles us is one concerning our Service to our Lord? Have we a hard heart to deal with in the child whose conversion we seek, in our class, in the Sabbath School, or have we prejudices that stop our way in the congregation that we address week by week, and that he hope to convert to Jesus by his Spirit? Are we called to plough an unthankful soil that breaks the ploughshare, Is there something just now before us that looks like a gate of brass and a wall of iron? Here is the one comfort concerning it all. The Lord liveth. “He is not here; lie is risen.” He is not dead; his power lies not paralysed in the tomb; he lives and goes before you, leading the van of all the noble, of those who died for his crown and glory. On with you, then, in the name of God! Be this your might that Jesus lives. henceforth, let difficulties be only rejoiced in as things to be over come, as opportunities for glorifying him by the exercise of your faith in him, which will be followed by the revelation of his power. So, then, that vanishes. If unbelief raises difficulties, “The Lord is risen” is the cure for them all.
Suppose our unbelief takes the shape of fright. It does sometimes. It did in the case of these good women — they were affrighted, we are told in the fifth verse. We are told again in the eighth verse that they fled from the sepulcher, for they trembled. Now we may be frightened at a great manythings. Some persons are so timid that they are frightened at nothing: their own shadow will frighten them. But there may be real matters that should cause us to tremble if we had not something better to fall back upon than ourselves. Now a Christian in a fright is like a man out of his wits. He is pretty sure to do something that will make his danger greater. Self-possession, calm composure, a quiet mind, these have often saved lives, have frequently prevented the destruction of a cause that was just then in peril. If thou canst be calm amidst bewildering circumstances, confident of victory in the end, that will half win the battle itself. If thou canst rest in the Lord. or, to use the words of Moses, “stand still and see the salvation of God,” thou wilt surely come out unscathed the evil. Now the best cure for fright is the fact that Jesus is risen. Why, how am I to be afraid when he who is flying of Kings and Lord of Lords is my shepherd, and will surely interpose for my protection? If my Lord were dead, then were I unsafe, but while Jesus lives I am secure. “Because I live, ye shall live also.” Oh! what a grand sentence is that! “I give unto ny sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand.” Who art thou, then, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man that is but as the moth? Rest thou in thy living Savior “Fear not; I am with thee — I am with thee — be not dismayed, for I am thy God.” “I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. When thou passest through the rivers, I will be with thee; the floods shall not overflow thee. When thou goest through the fire, thou shalt not he burned, neither shall the flange kindle upon thee.” “I am God, I change not; therefore, ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Come back, then, if you pro tempest-tossed, terrified, trembling, and affrighted, and, because Jesus lives, be quiet, and in patience possess your souls.
I notice in the chapter that the next form of unbelief is amazement. These good women, in addition to being afraid, were amazed — could not make it out. It was too great a mystery. How could it be? It troubled them — it troubled them. Now in all times of our amazement about great gospel truths, we shall find always the best way to get out of the amazement is to hold fast by faith to the veracity and truthfulness of God, and to hold fast to what we can understand — to a fact that has been proved better than other facts of history have been proved, the fact that the Lord Jesus is risen from the dead. It is generally when you are in trouble about some great doctrine; a bad thing to argue about that doctrine while you are troubled about it. Think more of what you do believe, of what you are sure of, than just now of that matter which staggers you. You will find that, if you receive the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and rest in that as being a guarantee of your resurrection, you have the key of many other precious truths; and as one doctrine draws on another as the links of a chain, you will find your amazement at some of the most stupendous mysteries of the faith will be cured by your grasping the first simplicity and fundamental doctrine of the faith of the gospel, that the Lord Jesus, who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, and dead, and buried, and the third day rose again in very flesh and blood. and ever liveth, sitting on the right hand of God, reigning in exceeding power. You will not be Amazed nor affrighted; you will not be made to tremble, or be bewildered, if you keep close to this — “He lives! He lives! This I know, and on this I rest.”
Further, it seems that these good women were much prevented in doing their duty by their unbelief. They were told to go and speak to the disciples, but, fat any rate for a time, they did not do so, for it is written, “Neither said they anything to any man, for they were afraid.” Those tongues that by-and-bye in calmer moments would bear such a sure testimony were, through their fears which sprang of their unbelief, quite dumb. They could not speak. Oh! arid this is a complaint that is very common in the Church. I know some that could preach, but do not, and it is unbelief that silences them. And you today, perhaps, were in society where you ought to have spoken a loving and an earnest word, and you did not, and it was a wrong timidity that kept you quiet. And you have been many times in your life cast into positions where usefulness would have been very easy, but at the same time you found it hard, because you forgot that Jesus lives — you forgot that he lives to watch his people, lives to render them assistance when they are in the path of service. Oh! if we knew he lived — aye! knew that he was here — knew that he was close to us, and that his heart never forgot us, and his eye was never closed upon us — we should be swift in the ways of duty, and a stammering tongue would begin to speak; and the now unhallowed silence which spoils the Church and robs her of many a triumph, would be broken by our willing testimony and by our cheerful song. The best cure for the dumb devil that sometimes, possesses us is a belief in the living and pleading Savior.
Further on, as your eye glances down the chapter, you will see unbelief connecting itself with wounded affection. When Mary Magdalene came to the disciples, she found them weeping, weeping for sorrow, men and women of God– a very mournful company, all weeping, weeping for a dead Savior — the dearest friend they had ever had, who first had given them spiritual conceptions and lifted them out off their former grovelling state. He was gone: he was dead, and they could not but weep. But they left off weeping, or would have done if they had known or believed that. he was risen. It was the last thing they should have done, to be weeping. He rising, and they weeping! All the harps of heaven ringing out melodious praise, and those most concerned in the glorious fact still weeping! Every angel in heaven bending from the sacred battlements to look down upon a risen Savior with admiring gaze, and yet his own dear people who had known and loved him, sitting down and weeping amidst the universal festival! It was very strange.
Now oftentimes the same mischief happens to us. We lose a friend. Who among us has not? We lose a husband, a wife, a child. Very dear are these associations; and when the ties are snapped our heart bleeds, and sometimes we weep, and weep, and weep again until there is a want of submission to the Savior’s will, there is a want of resignation to his divine purpose and decree. Now if we recollected that he lives we should also remember that they also that sleep in Jesus shall God bring with him: for if Jesus rose from the dead, so must all his people. We sorrow not as those without hope; we commit our precious dust to the earth, but it is only far a while. We lay it low, but we thank God it can go no lower. Corruption shall not consume, but refine this flesh until, when the trumpet sounds, the very body that we wept over shall rise again in sacred lustre, fashioned in the image of Christ’s own glorious body. Death is robbed of all its sting when we remember this — the soul in the company of the living Savior; the body, like Esther, bathing itself in spices to make it ready for the embrace of the all-glorious Lord; the old, worn-out vesture laid aside awhile, until God refits it, and makes it fit to be worn in the high festivals of heaven. Oh! if Jesus lives, we wipe away the tear, and we carry not our dead to their graves with sound of weeping and with the noise of lamentation, but with the sound of holy psalm and shoutings of victory; we lower the conquering champion into his rest in sure and certain hope that he shall rive to participate in his great Captain’s everlasting, victory. “Christ is risen” is the cure for wounded affection, when the wound rankles
through unbelief.
Further, remark that this blessed doctrine, that Christ is risen cures us of the difficulties we have as to intercourse with heavenly things. It is earlier in the chapter, though I mention it last. The angel appeared unto the women — two angels appeared to certain other women, according to Luke, and instead of speaking to the angels, they ran away. They were afraid and amazed. “Fear not ye,” said the angels, “for we know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not l here, for he is risen.” Now I think if you and I were in a state of full faith in the risen Savior, if we met an angel, we should not be amazed. If we saw an angel — if once again the spirits could put on the semblance of bodies and soon appear to the organs of our vision I think if we revere full of faith, we should avail ourselves of the opportunity to learn some thing about them, and about the heaven they dwell in, and, most of all, about their Lord.
Oh! methinks I would like an hour with some bright spirit to question him about some of those mysteries that, as yet, eye hath not seen. If it were lawful for him to utter what, perhaps, he might not tell — if it were lawful for him to tell of some of the glories within the veil, and some of the mysteries of those streets of gold, and those walls of twelve foundations calf precious stones, our inquisitiveness might take a holy turn. Act any rate, if we might not ask questions, we would hold fellowship; we would be glad to see these spirits that are so near akin to us, for even now — even we — we are not strangers to them. They bear us up in their hands lest we clash our foot against a stone, and we are come to the general assembly and Church of the firstborn — we are come to the host of angels, and to those whose names are written in heaven: we are come to that innumerable company, even now, by faith, and if we could get a glimpse of them, we should not be afraid. Now it is a fact that Christ is risen that makes an open door between us and the spiritual world. A man in flesh and blood is gone into the skies: a man who ate a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb — a man that said, “Handle me and see that it is I myself”: a man of whom it is written, “He showed them his hands and his side”: a man who said to one of his acquaintance, “Reach hither thy finger behold my hand, and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side” — such a man is gone into the excellent glory, and he has opened a living way by which our intercourse with angels, and with the angels’ Master, is complete. Oh! herein there is subject for spiritual minds greatly to rejoice at, and the difficulties which unbelief would put in our way are swept away by the full conviction that the Lord is risen — is risen indeed.
But I must not dwell longer on that. The great power of unbelief receives its antidote in the blessed and well-ascertained fact that Jesus is risen. Now let us see still further: —
III. SOME OTHER CONSEQUENCES OF OUR LORD’S RISING.
We observe in the chapter that one of the first consequences of his rising was a more general, a more intense, a more universal activity in the Church. He said to them, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” We see again, “He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God, and they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them.” From which I gather that, if we did more fully perceive that Christ is risen, we should be all of us more active. It is very hard to get up enthusiasm for an idea — certainly in England it is — it may not be in some more mercurial clime among a more sensitive and responsive people — but here we do not generally get into a state of enthusiasm for an idea. But what men are there that are not moved to enthusiasm for a person? A man, a person, will always command more fully the activity of human hearts than will a mere doctrine or dogma. Bring before me in history the leading principles, and you will generally find that the principles did little or nothing until they wore embodied in a man, and when some bold man represented the principles, then the principles opened the man’s way to human hearts.
It is so in the Church. I suppose some people are enthusiastic about creeds and about dogmas. I don’t know, but I know this: that the most enthusiastic people in all the Church are those that know him, and love him, and live with him, and serve him. The enthusiasm of heaven seems to be about them. They cast their crowns at his feet, and they sing “Hallelujah” when they behold God and the Lamb. There is an adoration of persons, and their souls are moved by the presence of blessed and divine persons, and so in the Church should it be. We have a living Savior, a living Captain. He is not out of the fight: he still looks down upon us: he still is fighting with us in the grand old cause. Oh! who of us will be a laggard when the Captain’s eye is upon him? Jesus is looking on — Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, is looking on the course. Let us run with patience, because we look at, and are looked upon by, him. May this principle of Christian patience move every person here to do something, and continue to do something for the honor and glory of his Master.
But, in addition to this cause, we find that the presence of Christ gave to the church at that time miracles. The risen Savior endowed them with unknown tongues, and they spoke, though they were uninstructed men, so that men understand them from every clime: they began to work wonders Our faith leads us not to these, nor will it. This is wisely denied us. At the same time, though we work not miracles in the outer world, all true preaching is miracle working. Commonly to declare a doctrine, commonly to speak a thing well — all this may be no preaching as God would call it— eloquence, oratory, refinement, the putting of words well together — this is common to all mankind. After their measure, all may speak — after some sort. This is not God’s work; but true preaching, soul-saving preaching, the Spirit’s voice speaking through man — this is miracle working. You know, my brethren, there are some who cannot preach — they say they cannot preach the gospel. I mean this: they will preach sermons to God’s living people, to God’s quickened ones, and then they say, “As for you that are dead in sin, I have nothing, to say to you.” That is their notion. They are very candid. God never set them to preach the gospel, and they own they cannot do it.
Well, a pity that they should try; but another man whom God sends knows, as the other did, that the hearer who is unconverted is dead in trespasses and sins. He knows that ordinarily to speak to such people would be a very idle thing. He knows he dare not attempt it in his own strength, and that to say to the dead, to the spiritual dead, “Live,” is in itself the extreme of folly. But he, feels that God is with him, that God has sent him, and looking, like Ezekiel of old, upon the congregation of sinners, as in the valley full of dry bones, he does not say, “I have nothing to say to you; you are dead”; but bursting out in his Master’s name, he says, ‘Ye dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord, ye dry bones, ‘Live.’” God sent the man, and while he prophesies thus upon the bones, they come together, bone to his bone, and live. The two apostles at the beautiful gate of the temple did not say to the lame man. “You are lame; we trust in God’s time you will get cured of your lament — we have nothing to say to you”; but they said, “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” They bid the man do what he could not do, but as they bade him do it, the strength came to him to do it.
And while we say to the sinner, “Believe and live,” God sends the power of the gospel command, and they do repent, do believe, do live, do fly for refuge to the hope set before them in the gospel; and to this day each Christian is a miracle worker in his own sphere, in the sphere of spiritual things. He opens blind eyes by God’s power, and unstops deaf ears by Jesus’ might. He, too, raises the dead; he, too, casts out devils, still in the higher realm, the realm of mind, the realm of spirit; and our ascended Lord has given us this — this power — we receive it entirely from him because all power is given unto him in heaven and in earth. Therefore, go we and teach all nations, and that teaching works results.
I must not detain you longer, except to notice that, in consequence of our Lord’s resurrection, there is divine power, the highest degree of power concentrated in the person of Jesus Christ. He was ever God, and now as God — man Mediator all power is concentrated in him. And this power is not laid up there to be idle — not as so much stored up ammunition never to be expended, for if you notice the last verse, “The Lord working with them.” Is it not a delightful thought that Jesus is not a sufferer, but he is a worker still?” The Lord working with them. “Redeeming work is done; saving work is going on. “The Lord is working with them.” We do not see it, but he is working. Often that power which is least seen is most mighty, and certainly in the Church that which is not perceptible by the senses is the strongest power.
Believer, if the conversion of the world rested with the Church, if the outgathering of the elect depended upon us, it never would be done; but God makes us work for this end, and so he works first in us, and then lie works with us. How this ought to encourage us to work! This little arm, what can it do? But that eternal arm, what can it not do? This tongue, how feebly can it speak; but the voice of him who spake as never man spake, how persuasively can it speak? Our spirits, narrow and limited, what can they effect? But his unbounded Spirit, what cannot he perform? Oh! let everyone here who has been serving his Master bid farewell to everything like a discouraging or desponding thought. The great army of God is not defeated; it never can be, in the long run it must conquer. And even those parts of the divine strategy of our great Commander. which looked like retreat, are only portions of his perpetual victory. He is fighting on, and will win the battle, even to the end.
It is a great consolation to the believer to know that Jesus lives, and lives in triumph. I do remember, and I cannot help repeating what I have told you before — I do remember, when in an hour of the most overwheming sorrow through which a mind could pass, this one thing restored and comforted me. After that dreadful catastrophe in the Surrey Gardens, when my mind gave way, and my sorrow was extreme — when I had almost lost my reason for some three weeks. and was desponding and brokenhearted, I was alone, walking in solitude, mourning, and weeping as I did day and night and on a sudden there came into my mind, as though it dropped from heaven, this text, “Him hath God highly exalted and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow”; you know the rest. The thought that crossed my mind was this, I am one of his soldiers, and I am lying in a ditch to die. It does not matter: the King has won the victory— Christ has won the victory — Christ is to the fore. If I die like a dog, I care not. The crown is on his head. He is safely exalted.” In a moment I was happy; my trouble was gone; I found myself perfectly restored; I fell on my knees in a solitary place, praising God who, in infinite mercy, had made that text to be a balm to my spirit. Now there may be someone here who feels much as I did — disconsolate, cast down If you really love Jesus, there is not a nobler balm for your care than this: he reigns, he is glorious; the government is not taken from his shoulders. Our King is no captive; our Emperor has not yielded up his sword: our Prince Imperial is not banished: our Empire never fails, the city of Jerusalem is not besieged: there shall be no straitness of bread in her streets. “God is in the midst of her: she shall not be moved; God shall help her, and that right early.” Let the heathen rage: let the people and nations be moved: let the whole earth rock and reel, and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, God is our refuge and strength, our very present help in time of trouble. God reigneth, and the kingdom of Jesus is settled by an unchangeable decree.
Therefore. lift up your heads, ye saints, for your redemption draweth nigh, and even now clap ye your joyful hands, and go ye back again to the conflict of life until your Master galls you home like true heroes, that henceforth shall know no fear, and shall never turn your backs in the day of battle. God grant it may be so for his name’s sake. Amen.

Hymn for Today:
“Infant Holy, Infant Lowly” by Polish carol; translated by Edith M.G. Reed, 1885-1933
1. Infant holy, infant lowly,
for his bed a cattle stall;
oxen lowing, little knowing,
Christ the babe is Lord of all.
Swift are winging angels singing,
noels ringing, tidings bringing:
Christ the babe is Lord of all.
2. Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping
vigil till the morning new
saw the glory, heard the story,
tidings of a gospel true.
Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow,
praises voicing, greet the morrow:
Christ the babe was born for you.

Through the Bible in One Year:
Judges 21
1 The men of Israel had sworn this oath at Mizpah, ‘None of us is to give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.’
2 The people went to Bethel and stayed there until evening, sitting before God and raising their voices, made a great lament,
3 and exclaiming, ‘Yahweh, God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel that a tribe should be missing from Israel today?
4 The next day the people got up early and built an altar there; they presented burnt offerings and communion sacrifices.
5 The Israelites then said, ‘Out of all the tribes of Israel, who has not come to Yahweh, to the assembly?’ — for they had sworn a solemn oath that anyone who did not come to Yahweh at Mizpah would certainly die.
6 Now the Israelites felt sorry about Benjamin their brother. ‘Today’, they said, ‘a tribe has been amputated from Israel.
7 What shall we do to provide wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by Yahweh not to give them any of our own daughters in marriage?’
8 They then asked, ‘Out of the tribes of Israel, who is it that has not come to Yahweh at Mizpah?’ It was discovered that no one from Jabesh in Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly;
9 for, a muster having been called of the people, none of the inhabitants of Jabesh in Gilead was present.
10 The community then despatched twelve thousand of their bravest men there, with these orders: ‘Go and slaughter all the inhabitants of Jabesh in Gilead, including the women and children.
11 This is what you are to do. All males and all those women who have ever slept with a man, you will put under the curse of destruction, but the lives of the virgins you will spare.’ And this they did.
12 Among the inhabitants of Jabesh in Gilead they found four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man, and brought them to the camp (to Shiloh in the territory of Canaan).
13 The whole community then sent messengers to offer peace to the Benjaminites who were at the Rock of Rimmon.
14 Benjamin then came home: they were given those of the women of Jabesh in Gilead whose lives had been spared, but there were not enough for all.
15 The people felt sorry about Benjamin, Yahweh having made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
16 And the elders of the community said, ‘What shall we do to provide wives for the survivors, since the women of Benjamin have been wiped out?’
17 They went on, ‘How can we preserve a remnant for Benjamin so that a tribe may not be lost to Israel?
18 We cannot give them our own daughters in marriage’ — for the Israelites had taken an oath, ‘Accursed be the man who gives a wife to Benjamin!’
19 ‘However,’ they said, ‘there is the feast of Yahweh, held every year at Shiloh.’ (The town lies north of Bethel, east of the highway that runs from Bethel up to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.)
20 So they told the Benjaminites to do as follows, ‘Put yourselves in ambush in the vineyards.
21 Keep watch: when the girls of Shiloh come out in groups to dance, you then come out of the vineyards, each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and make for Benjaminite territory.
22 If their fathers or brothers come and complain to us, we shall say, “Let us have them, since we could not take wives for everyone in the battle; and you could not give them to them, or you would then have been guilty.” ‘
23 The Benjaminites did this and, from the dancers whom they caught, took as many wives as there were men and then, setting off, went back to their heritage, rebuilt the towns and settled down in them.
24 The Israelites then dispersed, each man to rejoin his tribe and clan, each leaving that place for his own heritage.
25 In those days there was no king in Israel, and everyone did as he saw fit.(New Jerusalem Bible)

Daily Office for Thursday, January 26, 2012:
Psalm 50
1 [Psalm Of Asaph] The God of gods, Yahweh, is speaking, from east to west he summons the earth.
2 From Zion, perfection of beauty, he shines forth;
3 he is coming, our God, and will not be silent. Devouring fire ahead of him, raging tempest around him,
4 he summons the heavens from on high, and the earth to judge his people.
5 ‘Gather to me my faithful, who sealed my covenant by sacrifice.’
6 The heavens proclaim his saving justice, ‘God himself is judge.’Pause
7 ‘Listen, my people, I am speaking, Israel, I am giving evidence against you, I, God, your God.
8 ‘It is not with your sacrifices that I find fault, those burnt offerings constantly before me;
9 I will not accept any bull from your homes, nor a single goat from your folds.
10 ‘For all forest creatures are mine already, the animals on the mountains in their thousands.
11 I know every bird in the air, whatever moves in the fields is mine.
12 ‘If I am hungry I shall not tell you, since the world and all it holds is mine.
13 Am I to eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
14 ‘Let thanksgiving be your sacrifice to God, fulfil the vows you make to the Most High;
15 then if you call to me in time of trouble I will rescue you and you will honour me.’
16 But to the wicked, God says: ‘What right have you to recite my statutes, to take my covenant on your lips,
17 when you detest my teaching, and thrust my words behind you?
18 ‘You make friends with a thief as soon as you see one, you feel at home with adulterers,
19 your conversation is devoted to wickedness, and your tongue to inventing lies.
20 ‘You sit there, slandering your own brother, you malign your own mother’s son.
21 You do this, and am I to say nothing? Do you think that I am really like you? I charge you, indict you to your face.
22 ‘Think it out, you who forget God, or I will tear you apart without hope of a rescuer.
23 Honour to me is a sacrifice of thanksgiving; to the upright I will show God’s salvation.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 59
1 [For the choirmaster Tune: 'Do not destroy' Of David In a quiet voice When Saul sent men to watch David's house in order to have him killed] Rescue me from my enemies, my God, be my stronghold from my assailants,
2 rescue me from evil-doers, from men of violence save me.
3 Look at them, lurking to ambush me, violent men are attacking me, for no fault, no sin of mine, Yahweh,
4 for no guilt, they come running to take up position. Wake up, stand by me and keep watch,
5 Yahweh, God of Sabaoth, God of Israel, rise up, to punish all the nations, show no mercy to all these malicious traitors.Pause
6 Back they come at nightfall, snarling like curs, prowling through the town.
7 Look how they rant in speech with swords on their lips, ‘Who is there to hear us?’
8 For your part, Yahweh, you laugh at them, you make mockery of all nations.
9 My strength, I keep my eyes fixed on you. For my stronghold is God,
10 the God who loves me faithfully is coming to meet me, God will let me feast my eyes on those who lie in wait for me.
11 Do not annihilate them, or my people may forget; shake them in your power, bring them low, Lord, our shield.
12 Sin is in their mouths, sin on their lips, so let them be trapped in their pride for the curses and lies that they utter.
13 Destroy them in your anger, destroy them till they are no more, and let it be known that God is Master in Jacob and the whole wide world.Pause
14 Back they come at nightfall, snarling like curs, prowling through the town,
15 scavenging for something to eat, growling unless they have their fill.
16 And so I will sing of your strength, in the morning acclaim your faithful love; you have been a stronghold for me, a refuge when I was in trouble.
17 My strength, I will make music for you, for my stronghold is God, the God who loves me faithfully.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 60
1 [For the choirmaster To the tune 'The decree is a lily' In a quiet voice Of David To be learnt When he was at war with Aram-Naharaim and Aram-Zobah, and Joab marched back to destroy twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt] God, you have rejected us, broken us, you were angry, come back to us!
2 You made the earth tremble, split it open; now mend the rifts, it is tottering still.
3 You have forced your people to drink a bitter draught, forced us to drink a wine that made us reel.
4 You gave a signal to those who fear you to let them escape out of range of the bow.Pause
5 To rescue those you love, save with your right hand and answer us.
6 God has spoken from his sanctuary, ‘In triumph I will divide up Shechem, and share out the Valley of Succoth.
7 ‘Mine is Gilead, mine Manasseh, Ephraim the helmet on my head, Judah my commander’s baton,
8 ‘Moab a bowl for me to wash in, on Edom I plant my sandal. Now try shouting “Victory!” over me, Philistia!’
9 Who will lead me against a fortified city, who will guide me into Edom,
10 if not you, the God who has rejected us? God, you no longer march with our armies.
11 Bring us help in our time of crisis, any human help is worthless.
12 With God we shall do deeds of valour, he will trample down our enemies.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 8
1 [For the choirmaster On the . . . of Gath Psalm Of David] Yahweh our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the world! Whoever keeps singing of your majesty higher than the heavens,
2 even through the mouths of children, or of babes in arms, you make him a fortress, firm against your foes, to subdue the enemy and the rebel.
3 I look up at your heavens, shaped by your fingers, at the moon and the stars you set firm-
4 what are human beings that you spare a thought for them, or the child of Adam that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him little less than a god, you have crowned him with glory and beauty,
6 made him lord of the works of your hands, put all things under his feet,
7 sheep and cattle, all of them, and even the wild beasts,
8 birds in the sky, fish in the sea, when he makes his way across the ocean.
9 Yahweh our Lord, how majestic your name throughout the world!(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 84
1 [For the choirmaster On the . . . of Gath Of the sons of Korah Psalm] How lovely are your dwelling-places, Yahweh Sabaoth.
2 My whole being yearns and pines for Yahweh’s courts, My heart and my body cry out for joy to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home, the swallow a nest to place its young: your altars, Yahweh Sabaoth, my King and my God.
4 How blessed are those who live in your house; they shall praise you continually. Pause
5 Blessed those who find their strength in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of the Balsam, they make there a water-hole, and — a further blessing — early rain fills it.
7 They make their way from height to height, God shows himself to them in Zion.
8 Yahweh, God Sabaoth, hear my prayer, listen, God of Jacob.
9 God, our shield, look, and see the face of your anointed.
10 Better one day in your courts than a thousand at my own devices, to stand on the threshold of God’s house than to live in the tents of the wicked.
11 For Yahweh God is a rampart and shield, he gives grace and glory; Yahweh refuses nothing good to those whose life is blameless.
12 Yahweh Sabaoth, blessed is he who trusts in you.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Genesis 16:15-17:14
15 Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave his son borne by Hagar the name Ishmael.
16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old Yahweh appeared to him and said, ‘I am El Shaddai. Live in my presence, be perfect,
2 and I shall grant a covenant between myself and you, and make you very numerous.’
3 And Abram bowed to the ground. God spoke to him as follows,
4 ‘For my part, this is my covenant with you: you will become the father of many nations.
5 And you are no longer to be called Abram; your name is to be Abraham, for I am making you father of many nations.
6 I shall make you exceedingly fertile. I shall make you into nations, and your issue will be kings.
7 And I shall maintain my covenant between myself and you, and your descendants after you, generation after generation, as a covenant in perpetuity, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
8 And to you and to your descendants after you, I shall give the country where you are now immigrants, the entire land of Canaan, to own in perpetuity. And I shall be their God.’
9 God further said to Abraham, ‘You for your part must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation.
10 This is my covenant which you must keep between myself and you, and your descendants after you: every one of your males must be circumcised.
11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that will be the sign of the covenant between myself and you.
12 As soon as he is eight days old, every one of your males, generation after generation, must be circumcised, including slaves born within the household or bought from a foreigner not of your descent.
13 Whether born within the household or bought, they must be circumcised. My covenant must be marked in your flesh as a covenant in perpetuity.
14 The uncircumcised male, whose foreskin has not been circumcised — that person must be cut off from his people: he has broken my covenant.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
Hebrews 10:1-10
1 So, since the Law contains no more than a reflection of the good things which were still to come, and no true image of them, it is quite incapable of bringing the worshippers to perfection, by means of the same sacrifices repeatedly offered year after year.
2 Otherwise, surely the offering of them would have stopped, because the worshippers, when they had been purified once, would have no awareness of sins.
3 But in fact the sins are recalled year after year in the sacrifices.
4 Bulls’ blood and goats’ blood are incapable of taking away sins,
5 and that is why he said, on coming into the world: You wanted no sacrifice or cereal offering, but you gave me a body.
6 You took no pleasure in burnt offering or sacrifice for sin;
7 then I said, ‘Here I am, I am coming,’ in the scroll of the book it is written of me, to do your will, God.
8 He says first You did not want what the Law lays down as the things to be offered, that is: the sacrifices, the cereal offerings, the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for sin, and you took no pleasure in them;
9 and then he says: Here I am! I am coming to do your will. He is abolishing the first sort to establish the second.
10 And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ made once and for all.(New Jerusalem Bible)
John 5:30-47
30 By myself I can do nothing; I can judge only as I am told to judge, and my judging is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
31 Were I to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be true;
32 but there is another witness who speaks on my behalf, and I know that his testimony is true.
33 You sent messengers to John, and he gave his testimony to the truth-
34 not that I depend on human testimony; no, it is for your salvation that I mention it.
35 John was a lamp lit and shining and for a time you were content to enjoy the light that he gave.
36 But my testimony is greater than John’s: the deeds my Father has given me to perform, these same deeds of mine testify that the Father has sent me.
37 Besides, the Father who sent me bears witness to me himself. You have never heard his voice, you have never seen his shape,
38 and his word finds no home in you because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
39 You pore over the scriptures, believing that in them you can find eternal life; it is these scriptures that testify to me,
40 and yet you refuse to come to me to receive life!
41 Human glory means nothing to me.
42 Besides, I know you too well: you have no love of God in you.
43 I have come in the name of my Father and you refuse to accept me; if someone else should come in his own name you would accept him.
44 How can you believe, since you look to each other for glory and are not concerned with the glory that comes from the one God?
45 Do not imagine that I am going to accuse you before the Father: you have placed your hopes on Moses, and Moses will be the one who accuses you.
46 If you really believed him you would believe me too, since it was about me that he was writing;
47 but if you will not believe what he wrote, how can you believe what I say?(New Jerusalem Bible)
Timothy, Titus [& Silas]:
Psalm 112:1-9
1 Alleluia! How blessed is anyone who fears Yahweh, who delights in his commandments!
2 His descendants shall be powerful on earth, the race of the honest shall receive blessings:
3 Riches and wealth for his family; his uprightness stands firm for ever.
4 For the honest he shines as a lamp in the dark, generous, tender-hearted, and upright.
5 All goes well for one who lends generously, who is honest in all his dealing;
6 for all time to come he will not stumble, for all time to come the upright will be remembered.
7 Bad news holds no fears for him, firm is his heart, trusting in Yahweh.
8 His heart held steady, he has no fears, till he can gloat over his enemies.
9 To the needy he gives without stint, his uprightness stands firm for ever; his reputation is founded on strength.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Isaiah 42:5-9
5 Thus says God, Yahweh, who created the heavens and spread them out, who hammered into shape the earth and what comes from it, who gave breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it:
6 I, Yahweh, have called you in saving justice, I have grasped you by the hand and shaped you; I have made you a covenant of the people and light to the nations,
7 to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison, and those who live in darkness from the dungeon.
8 I am Yahweh, that is my name! I shall not yield my glory to another, nor my honour to idols.
9 See how the former predictions have come true. Fresh things I now reveal; before they appear I tell you of them.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Acts 15:22-26,30-33
22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose delegates from among themselves to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas, known as Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men in the brotherhood,
23 and gave them this letter to take with them: ‘The apostles and elders, your brothers, send greetings to the brothers of gentile birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia.
24 We hear that some people coming from here, but acting without any authority from ourselves, have disturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds;
25 and so we have decided unanimously to elect delegates and to send them to you with our well-beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 who have committed their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
30 The party left and went down to Antioch, where they summoned the whole community and delivered the letter.
31 The community read it and were delighted with the encouragement it gave them.
32 Judas and Silas, being themselves prophets, spoke for a long time, encouraging and strengthening the brothers.
33 These two spent some time there, and then the brothers wished them peace andwent back to those who had sent them.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Acts 16:1-5
1 From there he went to Derbe, and then on to Lystra, where there was a disciple called Timothy, whose mother was Jewish and had become a believer; but his father was a Greek.
2 The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him,
3 and Paul, who wanted to have him as a travelling companion, had him circumcised. This was on account of the Jews in the locality where everyone knew his father was a Greek.
4 As they visited one town after another, they passed on the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, with instructions to observe them.
5 So the churches grew strong in the faith, as well as growing daily in numbers.(New Jerusalem Bible)
John 10:1-10
1 ‘In all truth I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a bandit.
2 He who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock;
3 the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all those that are his, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice.
5 They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they do not recognise the voice of strangers.’
6 Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus spoke to them again: In all truth I tell you, I am the gate of the sheepfold.
8 All who have come before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep took no notice of them.
9 I am the gate. Anyone who enters through me will be safe: such a one will go in and out and will find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full.(New Jerusalem Bible)
2 Samuel 7:18-19,24-29
18 King David then went in, sat down in Yahweh’s presence and said: ‘Who am I, Lord Yahweh, and what is my lineage, for you to have led me as far as this?
19 Yet, to you, Lord Yahweh, this seemed too little, and now you extend your promises for your servant’s family into the distant future. Such is human destiny, Lord Yahweh.
24 for you constituted your people Israel your own people for ever and you, Yahweh, became their God.
25 ‘Now, Yahweh God, may the promise which you have made for your servant and for his family stand firm forever as you have said,
26 so that your name will be exalted for ever and people will say, “Israel’s God is Yahweh Sabaoth.” Your servant David’s dynasty will be secure before you,
27 since you, Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of Israel, have disclosed to your servant, “I am going to build you a dynasty.” Hence, your servant has ventured to offer this prayer to you.
28 Yes, Lord Yahweh, you are God indeed, your words are true and you have made this generous promise to your servant.
29 What is more, you have deigned to bless your servant’s dynasty, so that it may remain for ever before you; for you, Lord Yahweh, have spoken; and may your servant’s dynasty be blessed with your blessing for ever.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 132:1-5,11-15
1 [Song of Ascents] Yahweh, remember David and all the hardships he endured,
2 the oath he swore to Yahweh, his vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 ‘I will not enter tent or house, will not climb into bed,
4 will not allow myself to sleep, not even to close my eyes,
5 till I have found a place for Yahweh, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob!’
11 Yahweh has sworn to David, and will always remain true to his word, ‘I promise that I will set a son of yours upon your throne.
12 If your sons observe my covenant and the instructions I have taught them, their sons too for evermore will occupy your throne.’
13 For Yahweh has chosen Zion, he has desired it as a home.
14 ‘Here shall I rest for evermore, here shall I make my home as I have wished.
15 ‘I shall generously bless her produce, give her needy their fill of food,(New Jerusalem Bible)
Mark 4:21-25
21 He also said to them, ‘Is a lamp brought in to be put under a tub or under the bed? Surely to be put on the lamp-stand?
22 For there is nothing hidden, but it must be disclosed, nothing kept secret except to be brought to light.
23 Anyone who has ears for listening should listen!’
24 He also said to them, ‘Take notice of what you are hearing. The standard you use will be used for you — and you will receive more besides;
25 anyone who has, will be given more; anyone who has not, will be deprived even of what he has.’(New Jerusalem Bible)

Thursday, 26 January 2012
Saint Timothy and Saint Titus, bishops – Memorial
Saint(s) of the day:Ss Timothy and Titus, Bishops – Memorial
Titus 1:1-5
1 From Paul, servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ to bring those whom God has chosen to faith and to the knowledge of the truth that leads to true religion,
2 and to give them the hope of the eternal life that was promised so long ago by God. He does not lie
3 and so, in due time, he made known his message by a proclamation which was entrusted to me by the command of God our Saviour.
4 To Titus, true child of mine in the faith that we share. Grace and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Saviour.
5 The reason I left you behind in Crete was for you to organise everything that still had to be done and appoint elders in every town, in the way that I told you,(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 96
1 Sing a new song to Yahweh! Sing to Yahweh, all the earth!
2 Sing to Yahweh, bless his name! Proclaim his salvation day after day,
3 declare his glory among the nations, his marvels to every people!
4 Great is Yahweh, worthy of all praise, more awesome than any of the gods.
5 All the gods of the nations are idols! It was Yahweh who made the heavens;
6 in his presence are splendour and majesty, in his sanctuary power and beauty.
7 Give to Yahweh, families of nations, give to Yahweh glory and power,
8 give to Yahweh the glory due to his name! Bring an offering and enter his courts,
9 adore Yahweh in the splendour of his holiness. Tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, ‘Yahweh is king.’ The world is set firm, it cannot be moved. He will judge the nations with justice.
11 Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad! Let the sea thunder, and all it holds!
12 Let the countryside exult, and all that is in it, and all the trees of the forest cry out for joy,
13 at Yahweh’s approach, for he is coming, coming to judge the earth; he will judge the world with saving justice, and the nations with constancy.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Luke 10:1-9
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself would be visiting.
2 And he said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to do his harvesting.
3 Start off now, but look, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
4 Take no purse with you, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road.
5 Whatever house you enter, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!”
6 And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you.
7 Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house.
8 Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is put before you.
9 Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.”(New Jerusalem Bible)
Commentary of the day:
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (313-350), Bishop of Jerusalem, Doctor of the Church
Catechesis before baptism no.18, § 23-25
Timothy and Titus spread the faith of the apostles throughout the world
The Church is called catholic (or universal) because she exists throughout the world, from end to end of the earth, and because she teaches universally, without fail, every doctrine we need to know concerning both visible and invisible, heavenly and earthly realities. Besides this she is called catholic because she submits all humanity, both leaders and subjects, learned and unlearned, to the true religion; because she tends and heals throughout the world every kind of sin committed by soul or body; and finally, because she possesses in herself every kind of virtue, in deed or word, whatever names they bear, and all the various sorts of spiritual gift.
This name ‘Church’ – which means ‘assembly’ – suits it perfectly since she assembles and gathers everyone together as the Lord commands in Leviticus: «Assemble the whole community at the entrance of the Meeting Tent» (Lv 8,3)… And in Deuteronomy. God says to Moses: «Assemble the people before me; I will have them hear my words» (Dt 4,10)… The Psalmist also says: «I will give you thanks in the vast assembly; in the mighty throng I will praise you» (Ps 35[34],18)…
But subsequently the Savior instituted a second assembly from among the gentiles: our own holy Church, the church of Christians, concerning which he said to Peter: «Upon this rock I will build my Church and the power of death shall not prevail against it» (cf Mt 16,18)… When the first assembly that used to be in Judaea was destroyed, the churches of Christ were multiplied through all the earth. It is of these that the Psalms speak when they say: «Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints» (Ps 150[149],1)… And it was of the same holy, catholic Church that Paul writes to Timothy: «You should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth» (1Tim 3,15).

1st Thought for Today:
My Utmost for His Highest
Reading for Thursday 26th January 2012
LOOK AGAIN AND CONSECRATE by OSWALD CHAMBERS
If God so clothe the grass of the field . . . shall He not much more clothe you?(Matthew 6:30)
A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us if we are not simple. How are we going to be simple with the simplicity of Jesus? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, obeying Him as He brings the word of God, and life will become amazingly simple. “Consider,” says Jesus, “how much more your Father Who clothes the grass of the field will clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him.” Every time we have gone back in spiritual communion it has been because we have impertinently known better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed the cares of the world to come in, and have forgotten the “much more” of our Heavenly Father.
“Behold the fowls of the air” – their main aim is to obey the principle of life that is in them and God looks after them. Jesus says that if you are rightly related to Him and obey His Spirit that is in you, God will look after your ‘feathers.’
“Consider the lilies of the field” – they grow where they are put. Many of us refuse to grow where we are put, consequently we take root nowhere. Jesus says that if we obey the life God has given us, He will look after all the other things. Has Jesus Christ told us a lie? If we are not experiencing the “much more,” it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us, we are taken up with confusing considerations. How much time have we taken up worrying God with questions when we should have been absolutely free to concentrate on His work? Consecration means the continual separating of myself to one particular thing. We cannot consecrate once and for all. Am I continually separating myself to consider God every day of my life?

Reflecting God-Enemy In A Friend’s Clothing
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Scripture-Psalm 55:12-23
12 Were it an enemy who insulted me, that I could bear; if an opponent pitted himself against me, I could turn away from him.
13 But you, a person of my own rank, a comrade and dear friend,
14 to whom I was bound by intimate friendship in the house of God! May they recoil in disorder,
15 may death descend on them, may they go down alive to Sheol, since evil shares their home with them.
16 For my part, I appeal to God, and Yahweh saves me;
17 evening, morning, noon, I complain and I groan. He hears my cry,
18 he ransoms me and gives me peace from the feud against me, for they are taking me to law.
19 But God will listen and will humble them, he who has been enthroned from the beginning; no change of heart for them, for they do not fear God.
20 They attack those at peace with them, going back on their oaths;
21 though their mouth is smoother than butter, enmity is in their hearts; their words more soothing than oil, yet sharpened like swords.
22 Unload your burden onto Yahweh and he will sustain you; never will he allow the upright to stumble.
23 You, God, will thrust them down to the abyss of destruction, men bloodthirsty and deceptive, before half their days are spent. For my part, I put my trust in you.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Enemy In A Friend’s Clothing by Gerald Crispin
Have you ever been betrayed? Did that betrayal come from a friend, someone you trusted? It is bad enough when we are disregarded or suffer abuse from a stranger, but if you have ever been betrayed by a friend, someone you loved and trusted, then you can understand David’s despair. The one who “reproaches me”(verse 12, NASB) is his “familiar friend” and “companion.” You can feel David’s disappointment at the betrayal. This was an enemy in friend’s clothing.
Maybe, like David, you have become angry and tempted to call down on those who have hurt you. I know I have. David does something spectacular: he casts his burden on the Lord, the only one in heaven and earth who will hear his cry and save him. As a result, God ransoms David unharmed from the battle waged against him (verse 18).
God will do the same for us if we will only cry out to him. Even though we may have enemies dressed in friend’s clothing we can cast our cares on the Lord. “He will never let the righteous fall”(verse 22).
Hymn for Today:
“All Your Anxiety” by Edward Henry Joy
1. Is there a heart o’er bound by sorrow?
Is there a life weighed down by care?
Come to the cross each burden bearing.
All our anxiety leave it there.
Refrain:
All your anxiety, all your care,
Bring to the mercy seat leave it there;
Never a burden He cannot bear,
Never a friend like Jesus.
2. No other friend so keen to help you,
No other friend so quick to hear.
No other place to leave your burden;
No other one to hear our prayer.
Refrain:
All your anxiety, all your care,
Bring to the mercy seat leave it there;
Never a burden He cannot bear,
Never a friend like Jesus.
3. Come then at once; delay no longer!
Heed His entreaty kind and sweet.
You need not fear a disappointment;
You shall find peace at the mercy seat.
Refrain:
All your anxiety, all your care,
Bring to the mercy seat leave it there;
Never a burden He cannot bear,
Never a friend like Jesus.
2nd Thought for Today:
“Reality, sincerity, and integrity are available to us through our Redeemer-God”(Neil B. Wiseman).
Prayer Needs:
Many people in the United Kingdom will come to know Christ and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Shalom,
In the last few weeks, Arab countries have launched an all out cyber war
against Israel and its citizens.
First, Saudi hackers stole the personal information of 15,000 Israeli citizens
from an Israeli sports website.
And last week, the Saudi computer hackers disrupted access to the online
websites of three Israeli banks, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and El Al airlines.
Yesterday, the websites of two Israeli hospitals, the Assuta Medical Center
in Tel Aviv and the Sheeba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer and, were
attacked, although the hospital security systems reportedly held back the
attack and patient information wasn’t compromised.
Shortly afterwards, the websites Dan Public Transportation company, the
Israel Festival, the Cinematheque and the Haaretz newspaper were
simultaneouly attacked.
It makes one wonder if we are just another step closer to embedding
personal information in a chip implanted in the forehead or hand to make it
more secure.
“No one could buy or sell anything if he did not have this mark. This mark is
the name of the beast or the number of its name.” (Revelations 3:17)
Traditional Military Response in the Face of the Privatization of War
Ever since the 9/11 (September 11, 2001) terrorist attacks on the United
States, military and political analysts have been warning about “the
privatization of war.”
In other words, instead of a massive attack against a country’s infrastructure
or civilian population by another country, the war would be waged by small
group of individuals.
Al Qaida showed the world on 9/11 that massive attacks against the civilian
and military infrastructure of a foreign country can be carried out by a small
terrorist group that did not have the support of a government.
Cyberspace: New Frontier for Waging War
One of the most important new battlefields in privatized war is the Internet.
Hackers are private, anonymous individuals with Internet skills that enable
them to break into government and corporation websites, databases and
networks to steal, manipulate or change the data stored there, including
personal information, email passwords, documents, financial information, etc.
And hackers can be, literally, anywhere on earth.
All they need is a connection to the Internet, and they can access any
computer anywhere else in the world.
They could be anyone, from a 12-year-old kid living in a one room
apartment down the hall to a soldier trained and sponsored by a government.
Most countries including the US, Israel, Russia, China, and Iran, have
recruited professional hackers for the purpose of fighting in cyberspace
and defending themselves against other hackers.
Cyberspace War in the Middle East
This current “Middle East” cyberspace war has erupted between hackers
from Arab countries and Israel.
It started a few weeks ago after a group of Saudi hackers dubbed
“Group-XP” posted personal information of thousands of Israelis on a
public website.
OxOmar, who identified himself as a member of the group, urged people to
cause Israel economic pain by using the numbers to make online purchases
in order to damage the economy of Israel.
In an email to the Jerusalem Post, OxOmar, who said he was a 19-year-old
from Saudi Arabia, explained that he “wanted to hurt Israel” any way he could.
He also said that a group of like-minded Pro-Palestinian hackers called
“Nightmare” had joined the Group XP battle against the Jewish State.
More attacks followed, including denial of service attacks against the
personal websites of Israeli government officials, the Fire and Rescue
Service, and others.
But OxOmar didn’t know what he’d started.
Israel Retaliates in Cyberspace
In the days following the attacks on Israeli websites, a group of hackers
calling itself the “IDF Team” (Israel Defense Team) launched attacks on
two large financial websites in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia,
promising that it was just the beginning unless the cyber attacks against
Israeli institutions stopped.
“We will not attack without a reason. We are waiting to see if there are
more attacks on Israel,” one member of the Israeli team told the Jerusalem
Post. “Our next steps will be taken slowly… the message we wish to pass
[along] is that we are not frightened to retaliate and we will not be
frightened of continuing with the attacks.”
But the attacks against Israel didn’t stop, nor did the Israeli retaliatory attacks.
In addition to the economic and even physical damage the conflict has
caused, thousands of helpless individuals in Israel and the Arab world had
their personal data, including medical records and other confidential items,
posted online for the whole world to see.
All of this was done (and continues to be done) without any government
anywhere being able to affect the course of events because it’s being done
by “private” hackers.
Further east, in a similar cyber conflict, Iranian hackers invaded
neighboring Azerbaijan, an ally of Israel, as well as the community of
Shiloh in Samaria.
There is a growing list of similar incidents all over the world.
Hamas (the Palestinian government of Gaza), seeing the value of an
electronic war against Israel, has called for an escalation of hacking Israeli websites.
To deal with these new threats, the Israeli Defense Ministry has announced
that it will establish a special cyber warfare administration.
Lawlessness Increases as War becomes a Hobby for Individuals
War, once the exclusive domain of governments, has become a hobby for
private individuals.
The barriers that once existed to give life in this world, if not exactly
stability, at least a certain amount of predictability, have slowly begun to
disappear. What we’re left with is a growing regime of pandemonium,
chaos and disorder.
In other words, lawlessness.
As Believers, we know who benefits from lawlessness.
“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy
comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of
worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself
as being God.” (2 Thessalonians: 2: 2–3)
Time is indeed short.
The only hope for anyone is the Prince of Peace, the Son of God, Yeshua
HaMashiach (Jesus Christ).
“But you, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time
of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”
(Daniel 12:4)
In our generation, and specifically with the Internet, smart phones, and
Google in the last 10 years, more than any time previously recorded in
history has knowledge increased to this extent!
The people of Israel, who often seem the primary focus of attacks in these
end times need to know about the prophecies about Yeshua in the book of
Daniel, Isaiah, Zechariah, Nehemiah, and Micah.
The best way they can learn about Yeshua and the prophetic Scriptures is
through reading the Messianic Prophecy Bible.
Will you help us bring this knowledge of the Word of God to them?
“I will bless those that bless Israel.” (Genesis 12:3)

3rd Thought for Today:
Thursday 26 January 2012
Maturity
What is a mature man or woman? What does it mean to be fully human? We are focused much more in terms of success and diplomas, and so we have to re-find the language of human maturity. What does it mean to be fully human? by Jean Vanier
Belonging: The Search for Acceptance
Windborne Production Video

1.26.12 – “Honor God with your body” from The Church of the Resurrection-United Methodist in Leawood, Kansas, United States
Daily Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:12 “‘For me everything is permissible’; maybe, but not everything does good. True, for me everything is permissible, but I am determined not to be dominated by anything.
13 Foods are for the stomach, and the stomach is for foods; and God will destroy them both. But the body is not for sexual immorality;
14 it is for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. God raised up the Lord and he will raise us up too by his power.
15 Do you not realise that your bodies are members of Christ’s body; do you think one can take parts of Christ’s body and join them to the body of a prostitute? Out of the question!
16 Or do you not realise that anyone who attaches himself to a prostitute is one body with her, since the two, as it is said, become one flesh.
17 But anyone who attaches himself to the Lord is one spirit with him.
18 Keep away from sexual immorality. All other sins that people may commit are done outside the body; but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
19 Do you not realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you and whom you received from God?
20 You are not your own property, then; you have been bought at a price. So use your body for the glory of God.”(New Jerusalem Bible)
Reflection Questions:
Sexual immorality was common in Corinth. Many Greek and Roman thinkers said that humans are done with their bodies at death, so what they do with them in life doesn’t matter. Paul totally rejected that view: “The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, The Message).
“Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you?” Paul asked (verse 19). In what ways does knowing that God wants to dwell in you all the time help you make better choices about what you do with your body, and how you think about it?
Scholars debate whether “I have the freedom to do anything” was the Corinthians’ opinion or Paul’s view of a Christian’s freedom before God. In either case, Paul did not directly dispute it. Instead, he said, in effect, “Some things [like the sexual immorality common in Corinth] are not good for you, are not smart.” In what ways have you seen sexual immorality have hurtful results in your own life, your family of origin or friends?
Weekly Prayer:
Lord God, “a man embraces his wife, and they become one flesh”? Wow—Genesis said the first human couple were really strongly attracted to each other! Sometimes I have that sense, too, but so many things (grief, illness, betrayal, unresolved childhood hurts, even just human brokenness in one or both partners) can go wrong. This week, teach me about the joy, bonding and sharing of life that “good sex,” sex as you intend it to be, can bring to our lives. Amen.
Wednesday 1.25.12 Insight from Angela LaVallie
Angela LaVallie is the Member Connection Program Director at The Church of the Resurrection. She provides oversight to our member connection efforts through the Connection Point, the Weekday Hospitality Team, Coffee With the Pastors, the New Member Team and our Spiritual Gifts Placement Team.
In this passage, the Apostle Paul is not writing as an enforcer of rules or laws. He’s not trying to keep people from having a good time. He’s writing because knows that by living a holy lifestyle, people will have an even better time, a more fulfilling life.
In verse 19, he writes of “people who lack all sense of right and wrong, and who have turned themselves over to doing whatever feels good and to practicing every sort of corruption along with greed.” These people are being selfish, doing whatever they want to do, regardless of the consequences for themselves and for others. Sometimes the results of our actions may not be immediate, so we have to take time to consider the long-term effects of what we are doing. It is so easy to justify one small action, not ever intending to take a step further down the path away from right living, then another step, then another.
When I was in high school, my youth minister explained to the youth group that we needed to think through possible situations that might come up in which we would be tempted to do something contrary to what we knew or felt we shouldn’t be doing. In doing this exercise, we were training ourselves on how to resist the temptations. The more determined we were ahead of time, the more likely we were to make wise choices if and when the situations did arise. Of course, he also taught us that the closer to God we were, the more we knew the Bible’s teachings, the better the chances were that we would be open to God’s guidance and would be more apt to live a life that was more closely aligned to the life God designed for us.
Thursday 1.26.12 Insight from Janelle Gregory
Janelle Gregory serves on the Resurrection staff as a Human Resources Specialist.
Many would assume that a good sex life and a strong faith in God are mutually exclusive. We have this view that God and the church are anti-sex. Butch Hancock said that he learned this about the church’s view on the subject matter:
“sex is the most awful, filthy thing on earth and you should save it for someone you love.”
Seems a bit silly when you read it, but it’s a warranted misconception. But the truth is that God isn’t anti-sex at all. We’re talking about the inventor of sex here. Let’s face it, if you read beyond what they put in most small group curriculum, you’d know that should certain parts of the Bible were ever made into a movie, it would only be shown in seedy theaters.
But as the inventor, God does provide a few guidelines. Because He, better than us, knows what sex is capable of doing.
I’d like to think of sex as like fire. Given the right parameters-
It can provide warmth.
It can be powerful.
It can be beautiful.
But it’s interesting how that same beautiful fire can be so destructive just outside the bounds of where it should be.
It can destroy lives.
It can wreck homes.
It can leave scars.
These painful images are reminders that if we play with fire, we cannot only burn ourselves, but that the blaze and smoke damage may destroy those around us as well. Which of us would knowingly burn the ones we love?
But then just as, if not more, horrifying is that Paul reminds us that our bodies are not our own, but they belong to God. Would you take a match to your Savior?
I am a firm believer that God can bring beauty out of ashes, and I don’t want to give any other impression. But I would be doing nobody a favor by painting a less vivid picture. We need to grasp consequences.
So appreciate the fire where the fire should be, but if you should see sparks start to fly, go find a bucket of cold water immediately.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

4th Thought for Today:
Thursday January 26, 2012
Forgiveness, the Way to Freedom
To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, “I no longer hold your offense against you” But there is more. We also free ourselves from the burden of being the “offended one.” As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God. by Father Henri J. M. Nouwen

The Upper Room Daily Devotional
Thursday, January 26, 2012
After the Fire
Suggested Bible Reading:
Read 2 Corinthians 4:8-14
8 We are subjected to every kind of hardship, but never distressed; we see no way out but we never despair;
9 we are pursued but never cut off; knocked down, but still have some life in us;
10 always we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our body.
11 Indeed, while we are still alive, we are continually being handed over to death, for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our mortal flesh.
12 In us, then, death is at work; in you, life.
13 But as we have the same spirit of faith as is described in scripture — I believed and therefore I spoke -we, too, believe and therefore we, too, speak,
14 realising that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will raise us up with Jesus in our turn, and bring us to himself — and you as well.(New Jerusalem Bible)
You died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.(Colossians 3:3 (NIV))
Today’s Devotional
Exploring a wildfire-ravaged area in Victoria, Australia, I never became accustomed to the sight of skeletal trees blackened by fire or ghost-like forests where the scorched bark had peeled away from the trees. However, amazing signs of renewed life made the greatest impression. Passing one hollow remnant of an ancient tree — blackened both inside and out — I was astonished to see a new tree emerging from a gash in this corpse-like stump; it was a vivid illustration of resurrection.
I can relate to this because I have been devastated by circumstances. When bereavement, illness, depression, or doubt leaves us feeling lost, abundant life seems a thing of the past. Simply believing in Jesus, hanging on by our fingernails, may take all the energy we have.
That burned-out tree appeared to be lifeless, yet deep down — hidden from sight — life waited, ready to burst forth again. No matter what we may feel, no matter how unlikely it may seem at times, resurrection is possible. by Carol Griffin (Shropshire, England)
5th Thought for the Day: Go to www.upperroom.org to see a picture of the blackened tree.
Prayer: God of compassion, send your Spirit to strengthen those who have no strength, to bring peace to those who have no peace, and to give hope to all in despair. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Those overwhelmed by despair
The scripture quotation, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2012 by The Upper Room, a ministry of GBOD. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or redistribute without written permission from the publisher.

Daily Meditation: Wisdom — January 26, 2012
Center for Action and Contemplation
WISDOM
“I begged and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.”(Wisdom 7:7)
People’s willingness to find God in their own struggle with life—and let it change them—is their deepest and truest obedience to God’s eternal will. We must admit this is what all of us do anyway, as “God comes to us disguised as our life”! Remember, always remember, that the heartfelt desire to do the will of God is, in fact, the truest will of God. At that point, God has won, and the ego has lost, and your prayer has already been answered.
To sum up the importance of an alternative mind, this message from an unknown source says it all:
Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
From Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps, p. 103
Starter Prayer:
Grant me wisdom. by Father Richard Rohr

Sermon for Today:
Ruth Deciding For God by Charles H. Spurgeon
NO. 2680 INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD’S-DAY, JUNE 24TH, 1900, DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 21ST, 1881.
“And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from
following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where
thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy
God my God.”(Ruth 1:16).
THIS was a very brave, outspoken confession of faith. Please to notice that
it was made by a woman, a young woman, a poor woman, a widow
woman, and a foreigner. Remembering all that, I should think there is no
condition of gentleness, or of obscurity, or of poverty, or of sorrow, which
should prevent anybody from making an open confession of allegiance to
God when faith in the Lord Jesus Christ has been exercised. If that is your
experience, my dear friend, then whoever you may be, you will find an
opportunity, somewhere or other, of declaring that you are on the Lord’s
side. I am glad that all candidates for membership in our church make their
confession of faith at our church-meetings. I have been told that such an
ordeal must keep a great many from joining us; yet I notice that, where
there is no such ordeal, they often have very few members, but here are we
with five thousand six hundred, or thereabouts, in church-fellowship, and
very seldom, if ever, finding anybody kept back by having to make an open
confession of faith in Christ. It does the man, the woman, the boy, or the
girl, whoever it is, so much good for once, at least, to say right out
straight, “I am a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I am not ashamed of
it,” that I do not think we shall ever deviate from our custom. I have also
noticed that, when people have once confessed Christ before men, they are
very apt to do it again somewhere else; and they thus acquire a kind of
boldness and outspokenness upon religious matters, and a holy courage as
followers of Christ, which more than make up for any self-denial and
trembling which the effort may have cost them.
I think Naomi was quite right to drive Ruth, as it were, to take this brave
stand, in which it became an absolute necessity for her to speak right
straight out, and say, in the words of our text, “Intreat me not to leave
thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will
go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people,
and thy God my God.” What is there for any of us to be ashamed of in
acknowledging that we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ? What can there be
that should cause us to be ashamed of Jesus, or make us blush to own his
name
“Ashamed of Jesus! that dear Friend On whom my hopes of heaven
depend! No: when I blush, be this my shame, That I no more revere his
name.”
We ought to be ashamed of being ashamed of Jesus; we ought to be afraid
of being afraid to own him; we ought to tremble at trembling to confess
him, and to resolve that we will take all suitable opportunities that we can
find of saying, first to relatives, and then to all others with whom we come
into contact, “We serve the Lord Christ.”
I should think that Naomi was — certainly she ought to have been —
greatly cheered by hearing this declaration from Ruth, especially the last
part of it: “Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” Naomi
had suffered great temporal loss; she had lost her husband and her two
sons; but now she had found the soul of her daughter-in-law; and I believe
that, according to the scales of true judgment, there ought to have been
more joy in her heart at the conversion of Ruth’s soul than grief over the
death of her husband and her sons. Our Lord Jesus has told us that “there
is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth;”
and I always understand, by that expression, that there is joy in the heart of
God himself over every sinner’s repentance. Well, then, if Naomi’s husband
and sons were true believers, — if they had been walking aright before the
Lord, — as, let us hope, they had done, she need not have felt such sorrow
for them as could at all compare with the joy of her daughter-in-law being
saved.
Perhaps, some of you, dear friends, have had bereavements in your homes;
but if the death — the temporal death — of one should be the means of the
spiritual life of another, there is a clear gain, I am sure there is; and though
you may have gone weeping to the grave, yet, if you have evidence that,
with those tears, there were also tears of repentance on the part of others
of your family, and with that sad glance into the grave there was also a
believing look at the dying, risen, and living Savior, you are decidedly a
gainer, and you need not say, with Naomi, “I went out full, and the Lord
hath brought me home again empty.” Really Naomi, with her converted
daughter-in-law at her side, if she had only been able to look into the
future, might have been a happier woman than when she went away with
her husband and her boys, for now she had with her one who was to be in
the direct line of the progenitors of Christ, — a right royal woman; for I
count that the line of Christ is the true imperial line, and that they were the
most highly honored among men and women who were in any way
associated with the birth of the Savior into this world; and Ruth, though a
Moabitess, was one of those who were elected to share in this high
privilege. So I beg you, if you have been sorrowful because of any deaths
in your family circle, to pray God to outweigh that sorrow with a greater
measure of joy because, by his grace, he has brought other members of
your family to trust in Jesus.
Another thought strikes me here; that is, that it was when Naomi returned
to the land which she ought never to have left, it was when she came out
from the idolatrous Moabites among whom she had, as you see, relatives,
and friends, and acquaintances, — it was when she said, “I will go back to
my own country, and people, and God,” — that then the Lord gave her the
soul of this young woman who was so closely related to her. It may be that
some of you professedly Christian people have been living at a distance
from God. You have not led the separated life; you have tried to be
friendly with the world as well as with Christ, and your children are not
growing up as you wish they would. You say that your sons are not
turning out well, and that your girls are dressy, and flighty, and worldly.
Do you wonder that it is so? “Oh!” you say, “I have gone a good way to
try to please them, thinking that, perhaps, by so doing, I might win them
for Christ.” Ah! you will never win any soul to the right by a compromise
with the wrong. It is decision for Christ and his truth that has the greatest
power in the family, and the greatest power in the world, too. If a soldier in
the barracks is converted, and he says, “I mean to be a Christian; but, at the
same time, I will join with the other men as much as I can; I will sometimes
step into the public-house with them,” and so forth, he will do no good.
But the moment he boldly takes his stand for his new Captain, and is
known to be a Christian, his comrades may begin to scoff at him, but they
will also begin to be impressed; and if he bravely maintains that stand, and
never gives way in the least degree, but is faithful to his Lord and Master,
then he will be likely to see conversions among his fellow-soldiers.
It was while Naomi was on her way back to her own land that she heard
the good news that her dear daughter-in-law had decided to be a follower
of Jehovah, and to say, “Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my
God.” This gave her great joy; but how must some of you Christian people
feel when you find out that others have been caused to stumble through
your living at a distance from Christ? What pangs of remorse will seize you
when you discover that your arm has been paralyzed for good, that you
have been unable to lead others to the Savior, because you yourself were
living so far off from him that it was a serious question whether you were
not growing to be a worshipper of the Moabitish idols, and giving up
altogether your profession of being a follower of the one true God!
Now, with this as a preface, I come distinctly to the subject of the text.
Here is a young woman who says to a follower of Jehovah, “Thy people
shall be my people, and thy God my God.”
I. My first observation is, that AFFECTION FOR THE GODLY SHOULD
INFLUENCE US TO GODLINESS.
It did so in this case. Affection for their godly mother-in-law influenced
both Orpah and Ruth for a time, “and they said unto her, Surely we will
return with thee unto thy people.” They were both drawn part of the way
towards Canaan; but, alas!natural affection has not sufficient power in itself
to draw anybody to decision for God. It may be helpful to that end; it may
be one of the “cords of a man” and “bands of love” which God, in his
infinite mercy, ellen uses in drawing sinners to himself; but there has to be
something more than that mere human affection. Still, it ought to be of
some service in leading to decision; and it is a very dreadful thing when
those who have godly parents seem to be the worse rather than the better
for that fact, or when men, who have Christian wives, rebel against the
light, and become all the more wicked because God has blessed their
homes with godly women who speak to them, lovingly and tenderly,
concerning the claims of the religion of Jesus. That is a terrible state of
affairs, for it ought always to be the case that our affection for godly
people should help to draw us towards godliness. In Ruth’s case, by the
grace of God, it was the means of leading her to the decision expressed in
our text, “Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.”
Many forces may be combined to bring others to this decision. First, there
is the influence of companionship. Nobody doubts that evil company tends
to make a man bad, and it is equally sure that good companionship has a
tendency to influence men towards that which is good. It is a happy thing
to have side by side with you one whose heart is full of love to God. It is a
great blessing to have as a mother a true saint, or to have as a brother or a
sister one who fears the Lord; and it is a special privilege to be linked for
life, in the closest bonds, with one whose prayers may rise with ours, and
whose praises may also mingle with ours. There is something about
Christian companionship which must tell in the right direction unless the
heart be resolutely bent on mischief.
There is something more than this, however, and that is, the influence of
admiration. There can be no doubt whatever that Ruth looked with loving
reverence and admiration upon Naomi, for she saw in her a character
which won her heart’s esteem and affection. The few glimpses which we
have of that godly woman, in this Book of Ruth, show us that she was a
most disinterested and unselfish person, not one who, because of her own
great sorrow, would burden others with it, and pull them down to her own
level in order that they might in some way assist her. She was one who
considered the interests of others rather than her own; and all such persons
are sure to win admiration and esteem. When a Christian man so lives that
others see something about him which they do not perceive in themselves,
that is one way in which they are often attracted towards the Christian life.
When the sick Christian is patient, when the poor Christian is cheerful,
when the believer in Christ is forgiving, generous, tenderhearted,
sympathetic, honest, upright, then it is that observers say, “Here is
something worth looking at; whence came all this excellence?” And they
take knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus, and that they have
learnt these things of him; and in that way they are themselves inclined to
become his followers.
Nor is it only by companionship and admiration that people are won to the
Savior; there is also the influence of instruction. I have no doubt that
Naomi gave her daughter-in-law much helpful teaching. Ruth would want
to know about Naomi’s God, and Naomi would be only too glad to tell her
all she knew. When the Spaniards went over to South America, they
treated the poor natives so badly that the Indians did not wish to know
anything about the Spaniards’ god, for they thought, from the cruelties
they had suffered, that he must be a devil; and there are certain sorts of
professors who are so unkind, they have such an absence of everything
gentle and generous about them, that one does not want to know anything
about their god, for if they are like him, probably he is the devil.
But, dear friends, it ought not to be so with us. We should make people
want to know what our religion really is, and then be ready to tell them. I
have no doubt that, many a time, in the land of Moab, when her daughters-in-law ran in to see her, Naomi would begin telling them about the
deliverance at the Red Sea, and how the Lord brought his people through
the wilderness, and how the goodly land, which flowed with milk and
honey, had been given to them by the hand of Joshua. Then she would tell
them about the tabernacle and its worship, and talk to them about the lamb,
and the red heifer, and the bullock, and the sin-offering, and so on; and it
was thus, probably, that Ruth’s heart had been won to Jehovah the God of
Israel. And, perhaps, for that reason, — because of Naomi’s instruction, —
Ruth said to her, “‘Thy people shall be my people;’ I know so much about
them, that I want to be numbered with them; ‘and thy God shall be my
God.’ Thou hast told me about him, what wonders he has wrought, and I
have resolved to trust myself under the shadow of his wings.” Well,
beloved, it ought to be thus with us also. We should take care that the
influence of our companionship, the influence of our lives, in which there
should be something for observers to admire, and the influence of our
conversation, which should be full of gracious instruction, should lead
those who come under our influence in the right way.
Besides that, I have no doubt that some persons are drawn towards good
things by a desire to cheer the godly persons whom they love; and, though
I do not put this forward as one of the highest and strongest motives, yet I
do fee] at liberty to suggest to some young people here that their sins are a
great grief to their loving fathers and mothers, and that, if their hearts were
given to Christ, it would fill the whole house with holy joy. It was a great
joy to me when my sons were born, but it was an infinitely surpassing joy
as, one after the other, they told me that they had sought and found the
Savior. To pray with them, to point them yet more fully to Christ, to hear
the story of their spiritual troubles, and to help them out of their spiritual
difficulties, was an intense satisfaction to my soul. Ah! my young friends,
you do not know how much those who love you would be cheered if you
were converted, — especially any of you who have not lived as you should
have done, — who have, perhaps, even gone away from home, and acted
in a way that might well bring your father’s grey hairs in sorrow to the
grave. I think that he would almost dance with delight if he could only hear
that you were truly converted to God.
I know a minister, who took out of his pocket an old letter that was nearly worn to pieces; he made a journey from the country to bring it up for me to see. It was not really old, it was worn out because he had so constantly taken it out to read. It was somewhat to this effect. His son had been such a scapegrace, and such a disgrace to his family, that he was helped to go abroad, and he came to London to join the ship. As he had heard his father speak of me, he thought that he would spend his last Thursday night, before starting on the Friday morning, in hearing me in this Tabernacle; and here God met with him, for I was moved by the Holy Spirit to say, “Here you are, Jack; going away from home, from your father’s house. Oh, that the great Father in heaven would take you to himself!” It happened that his name was Jack, so it was the very word for him, and the Lord blessed it to him there and then. He went to America. He did not write to his father to tell him about his conversion till he had had time to prove the reality of it; but when he had
been baptized, and had joined the church, and walked consistently for six
months, he sent the good news home. The old man said, “I thought he
might have been lost at sea, but the Lord had saved him through your
preaching. God bless you, sir!” I had a thousand blessings heaped upon my
head by that grateful father. It was only a simple sermon that I had
preached on a Thursday night, but it was the means of that son’s
conversion, and it was the source of great joy to that father, he did not
mind about his son being in America, or what he was doing, so long as he
had become a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. What a mercy it would
be if this sermon should be blessed as that one was!
I think, too, that there was another thing which had great influence over
Ruth, as it has had over a great many other people. That is, the fear of
separation. “Ah!” said one to me, only last week, “it used to trouble me
greatly when my wife went downstairs to the communion, and I had to go
home, or to remain with the spectators in the gallery. I did not like to be
separated from her even here; and then, sir, the thought stole over me, ‘
What if I have to be divided from her for ever and ever?’“ I think that a?382
similar reflection ought, with the blessing of God, to impress a good many.
Young man, if you live and die impenitent, you will see your mother no
more, except it be from an awful distance, with a great gulf fixed between
her and you, so that she cannot cross over to you, or you go over to her.
There will come a day when one shall be taken and another left; and before
the great separation takes place, at the judgment-seat of Christ, when there
shall be a sundering made between the goats and the sheep, and between
the tares and the wheat, I do implore you to let the influence of the godly
whom you love help to draw you towards decision for God and his Christ.
II. My time would fail me if I dwelt longer on this point, though it is a
very interesting one, so I must pass on to my second observation, which is,
that RESOLVES TO GODLINESS WILL BE TESTED. Ruth speaks very positively:
“Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” This was her
resolve, but it was a resolve which had already been put to the test, and
had in great measure satisfactorily passed through it.
First, it had been tested by the poverty and the sorrow of her mother-in-law.
Naomi said, “The Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me;” yet Ruth
says, “Thy God shall be my God.” I like that brave resolution of the young
Moabitess. Some people say, “We should like to be converted, for we want
to be happy.” Yes, but suppose you knew that you would not be happy
after conversion, you ought still to wish to have this God to be your God.
Naomi has lost her husband, she has lost her sons, she has lost everything;
she is going back penniless to Bethlehem, and yet her daughter-in-law says
to her, “Thy God shall be my God.” Oh, dear friends, if you can share the
lot of Christians when they are in trouble, if you can take God and
affliction, if you can accept Christ and a cross, then your decision to be his
follower is true and real. It has been tested by the afflictions and the trials
which you know belong to the people of God, yet you are content to suffer
with them in taking their God to be your God, too.
Next, Ruth’s decision had been tested when she was bidden to count the
cost. Naomi had put the whole case before her. She had told her daughter-in-
law that there was no hope that she should ever bear a son who could
become a husband to Ruth, and that she had better stay and find a husband
in her own land. She set before her the dark side of the case, — possibly
too earnestly. She seemed as if she wanted to persuade her to go back,
though I do not think that, in her heart, she could really have wished her to
do so. But, my young friend, before you say to any Christian, “Thy people
shall be my people, and thy God my God,” count the cost. Recollect, if you
are following an evil trade, you will have to give it up; if you have formed
bad habits, you will have to forsake them; and if you have had bad
companions, you will have to leave them. There are a great many things,
which have afforded you pleasure, which must become painful to you, and
must be renounced. Are you prepared to follow Christ through the mire
and the slough, as well as along the high road, and down in the valley as
well as up upon the hills? Are you ready to carry his cross as you hope,
afterwards, to share his crown? If you can stand the test in detail, — such a
test as Christ set before those who wanted to be his followers on earth,
then is your decision a right one, but not else.
Ruth had been tried, too, by the apparent coldness of one in whom she
trusted, and whom she had a right to trust, for Naomi did not at all
encourage her; indeed, she seemed to discourage her. I am not sure that
Naomi is to be blamed for that, and I am not certain that she is to be much
praised. You know, it is quite possible for you to encourage people too
much. I have known some encouraged in their doubts and fears till they
never could get out of them. At the same time, you can certainly very
easily chill enquirers and seekers. And though Naomi showed her love to
Ruth, yet she did not seem to have any very great desire to bring her to
follow Jehovah. This is a test that many young people find to be very
trying; but this young woman said to her mother-in-law, “Intreat me not to
leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I
will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my
people, and thy God my God.”
Another trial for Ruth was the drawing back of her sister-in-law. Orpah
kissed Naomi, and left her; and you know the influence of one young
person upon another when they are of the same age, or when they are
related as these two were. You went to the revival meeting with a friend,
and she was as much impressed as you were. She has gone back to the
world, and the temptation is for you to do the same. Can you stand out
against it? You two young men went to hear the same preacher, and you
both felt the force of the Word; but your companion has gone back to
where he used to be. Can you hold out now, and say, “I will follow Christ
alone if I cannot find a companion to go with me?” If so, it is well with
you.
“Can ye cleave to your Lord?
Can ye cleave to your Lord,
When the many turn aside?
Can ye witness he hath the living Word,
And none upon earth beside?
And can ye endure with the virgin band,
The lowly and pure in heart,
Who, whithersoever the Lamb doth lead,
From his footsteps ne’er depart?
“Do ye answer, ‘We can’? Do ye answer, ‘We can,
Through his love’s constraining power’?
But, ah! remember the flesh is weak,
And will shrink in the trial-hour.
Yet yield to his love, who round you now,
The bands of a man would cast;
The cords of his love, who was given for you,
To the altar binding you fast.”
But one of the worst trials that Ruth had was the silence of Naomi. I think
that is what is meant, for after she had solemnly declared that she would
follow the Lord, we read, “When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to
go with her, then she left speaking unto her.” She left off stating the black
side of the case, but she does not appear to have talked to her about the
bright side. “She left speaking unto her.” The good woman was so
sorrowful that she could not talk, her heart-break was so great that she
could not converse, but such silence must have been very trying to Ruth;
and when a young person has just joined the people of God, it is a severe
test to be brought face to face with a very mournful Christian, and not to
get one encouraging word. Sometimes, brethren and sisters, we must
swallow our own bitter pills as fast as ever we can, that we may not
discourage others by making a wry face over them. It is sometimes the very
best thing a sorrowful person can do to say, “I must not be sad; here is
young So-and-so coming in. I must be cheerful now, for here comes one
who might be discouraged by my grief.”
You remember how the psalmist, when he was in a very mournful state of mind, said, “If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me.” Let it be too painful for us to give any cause for stumbling or disquietude to those who have just come to the Savior, but let us cheer and encourage them all we can. Still, Naomi’s silence did not discourage Ruth; she was evidently a strong-minded though gentle young woman, and she gave herself up to God and his people without any reserve. Even though she might not be helped much by the older believer, and might even be discouraged by her, and still more by the departure of her sister-in-law Orpah, yet still she pressed on in the course she had chosen. Well, you do the same, Mary; and you, Jane, and John, and Thomas. Will you be like Mr. Pliable, and go back to the City of Destruction? Or will you, like Christian, pursue your way, and steadfastly hold on through the Slough of Despond, or whatever else may be in your pathway to the Celestial City?
III. Now, thirdly, and very briefly, TRUE GODLINESS MUST MAINLY LIE INTHE CHOICE OF GOD. That is the very pith of the text: “Thy God shall be my God.”
First, dear friends, God is the believer’s choicest possession; indeed, it is
the distinguishing mark of a Christian that he owns a God. Naomi had not
much else, — no husband, no son, no lands, no gold, no silver, no pleasure
even; but she had a God. Come, now, my friend, are you determined that,
henceforth, and for ever, the Lord shall be your chief possession? Can you
say, “God shall be mine; my faith shall grasp him now, and hold him fast?”
Next, God was, henceforth, to Ruth, as he had been to Naomi, her Ruler
and Law-giver. When anyone truthfully says, “God shall be my God,” there
is some practical meaning about that declaration; it means, “he shall
influence me; he shall direct me; he shall lead me; he shall govern me; he
shall be my King. I will yield to him and obey him in everything. I will
endeavor to do all things according to his will. God shall be my God.”
You must not want to take God to be your helper, in the sense of making him to be your servant; but to be your Master, and so to help you. Dear friends,
does the Holy Spirit lead you to make this blessed choice, and to declare,
“This God shall be mine, my Law-giver and Ruler from this time forth ?”
Well, then, he must also be your Instructor. At the present day, I am afraid
that nine people out of ten do not believe in the God who is revealed to us
in the Bible. “What?” you say. It is so, I grieve to say. I can point you to
newspapers, to magazines, to periodicals, and also to pulpits by the score,
in which there is a new god set up to be worshipped; — not the God of the
Old Testament, he is said to be too strict, too severe, too stern for our
modern teachers. They do not believe in him. The God of Abraham is
dethroned by many nowadays; and in his place they have a molluscous god,
like those of whom Moses spoke, “new gods that came newly up, whom
your fathers feared not.” They shudder at the very mention of the God of
the Puritans. If Jonathan Edwards were to rise from the dead, they would
not listen to him for a minute, they would say that they had quite a new
god since his day; but, brethren, I believe in the God of Abraham, and of
Isaac, and of Jacob; this God is my God; — ay, the God that drowned
Pharaoh and his host at the Red Sea, and moved his people to sing
“Hallelujah” as he did it; the God that caused the earth to open, and
swallow up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and all their company; — a
terrible God is the God whom I adore; — he is the God and Father of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, full of mercy, compassion, and grace, tender
and gentle, yet just and dreadful in his holiness, and terrible out of his holy
places. This is the God whom we worship, and he who comes to him in
Christ, and trusts in him, will take him to be his Instructor, and so shall he
learn aright all that he needs to know. But woe unto the men of this day,
who have made unto themselves a calf of their own devising, which has no
power to bless or to save them! “Thy God” says Ruth to Naomi, — not
another god, — not Chemosh or Moloch, but Jehovah — “shall be my
God;” and so she took him to be her Instructor, as we also must do.
Then, let us take him to be our entire trust and stay. O my beloved friends,
the happiest thing in life is to trust God, — first to trust him with your soul
through Jesus Christ the Savior, and then to trust him with everything, and
in everything. I am speaking what I do know. The life of sense is death, but
the life of faith is life indeed. Trust God about temporals, — nay, I do not
know any division between temporals and spirituals; — trust God about
everything, about your daily livelihood, about your health, about your wife,
about your children; live a life of faith in God, and you will truly live, and
all things will be right about you. It is because we get partly trusting God
and partly trusting ourselves that we are often so unhappy. But when, by
simple faith, you just cast yourselves on God, then you find the highest joy
and bliss that is possible on earth, and a whole series of wonders is spread
out before you; your life becomes like a miracle, or a succession of
miracles, God hearing your prayers, and answering you out of heaven,
delivering you in the time of trial, supplying your every need, and leading
you ever onward by a matchless way which you know not, which every
moment shall cause you greater astonishment and delight as you see the
unfoldings of the character of God. Oh, that each one of you would say,?387
“This God shall be my God; I will trust him; by his grace, I will trust him
now.”
IV. The last thing is, that THIS DECISION SHOULD LEAD US TO CAST IN OUR LOT WITH GOD’S PEOPLE AS WELL AS WITH HIMSELF, for Ruth said, “Thy people shall be my people.”
She might have said, “You are not well spoken of, you Jews, you Israelites;
the Moabites, among whom I have lived, hate you.” But, in effect, she said,
“I am no Moabitess now. I am going to belong to Israel, and to be spoken
against, too. They have all manner of bad things to say in Moab about
Bethlehem-Judah; but I do not mind that, for I am going to be henceforth
an inhabitant of Bethlehem, and to be reckoned in the number of the
Bethlehemites, for no longer am I of Moab and the Moabites.”
Now, dear friend, will you thus cast in your lot with God’s people; and
though they are spoken against, will you be willing to be spoken against,
too? I daresay that the Bethlehemites were not all that Ruth could have
wished them to be. Even Naomi was not; she was too sad and sorrowful;
but, still, I expect that Ruth thought that her mother-in-law was a better
woman than she was herself. I have heard people find fault with the
members of our churches, and say that they cannot join with them, for they
are such inferior sort of people. Well, I know a great many different sorts
of people; and, after all, I shall be quite content to be numbered with God’s
people, as I see them even in his visible church, rather than to be numbered
with any other persons in the whole world. I count the despised people of
God the best company I have ever met with; and I often say of this
Tabernacle, as I hope members of other churches can say of their own
places of worship, —
“Here my best friends, my kindred dwell,
Here God my Savior reigns.”
“Oh!”says one, “I will join the church when I can find a perfect one.” Then
you will never join any. “Ah!” you say, “but perhaps I may.” Well, but it
will not be a perfect church the moment after you have joined it, for it will
cease to be perfect as soon as it receives you into its membership. I think
that, if a church is such as Christ can love, it is such as I can love; and if it
is such that Christ counts it as his Church, I may well be thankful to be a
member of it. Christ “loved the Church, and gave himself for it; “then may
I not think it an honor to be allowed to give myself to it??
Ruth was not joining a people out of whom she expected to get much.
Shame on those who think to join the church for what they can get! Yet
the loaves and fishes are always a bait for some people. But there was
Ruth, going with Naomi to Bethlehem, and all that the townsfolk would do
would be to turn out and stare at them, and say, “Is this Naomi? And pray
who is this young woman that has come with her? This Naomi, — dear
me! How altered she is! How worn she looks! Quite the old woman to
what she was when she left us.” Not much sympathy was given to them, as
far as I gather from that remark; yet Ruth seemed to say, “I do not care
how they treat me; they are God’s people, even if they have a great many
faults and imperfections, and I am going to join them.” And I invite all of
you who can say to us, “Your God is our God,” to join with the people of
God, openly, visibly, manifestly, decidedly, without any hesitancy, even
though you may gain nothing by it. Perhaps you will not; but, on the other
hand, you will bring a good deal to it, for that is the true spirit of Christ. “It
is more blessed to give than to receive.” Yet, in any case, cast in your lot
with the people of God, and share and share alike with them.
I conclude by saying that, whatever the other Bethlehemites might be, there
was among them one notable being, and it was worth while to join the
nation for the sake of union with him. Ruth found it all out by degrees.
There was a near kinsman among those people, and his name was Boaz.
She went to glean in his field; and, by-and-by, she was married to him. Ah!
that was the reason why I cast in my lot with the people of God, for I said
to myself, “There is One among them who, whatever faults they may have,
is so fair and lovely that he more than makes up for all their imperfections.
My Lord Jesus Christ, in the midst of his people, makes them all fair in his
fairness; and makes me feel that, to be poor with the poorest and most
illiterate of the Church of Christ, meeting in a village barn, is an
unspeakable honor, since he is among them.” Our Lord Jesus Christ
himself is always present wherever two or three are gathered together in
his name. If his name is in the list, there may be a number of odds and ends
put down with him, — members of different denominations, some queer
persons, some very old people; but as long as his name is in the list, I do
not mind about what others are there, put my name down. Oh, that I might
have the eternal honor of having it written even at the bottom of the page
beneath the name of Jesus, my Lord, the Lamb! As Boaz was there, it was
enough for Ruth; and as Christ is here, that is quite enough for me. So I
hope I have said sufficient to persuade you, who say that our God is yours
God, to come and join with us, or with some other part of Christ’s Church,
and so to make his people to be your people. And mind you do it at once,
and in the Scriptural fashion, and God bless you in the doing of it, for
Christ’s sake! Amen.

Hymn for Today:
“In Thee Is Gladness” by Johann Lindemann; trans. by Catherine Winkworth
1. In thee is gladness, amid all sadness,
Jesus, sunshine of my heart.
By thee are given the gifts of heaven,
thou the true Redeemer art.
Our souls thou makest, our bonds thou breakest;
who trusts thee surely hath built securely,
and stands forever. Alleluia!
Our hearts are pining to see thy shining;
dying or living, to thee are cleaving;
naught can us sever. Alleluia!
2. If God be ours, we fear no powers,
not of earth or sin or death.
God sees and blesses in worst distresses,
and can change them in a breath.
Wherefore the story tell of God’s glory
with heart and voices; all heaven rejoices,
singing forever; Alleluia!
We shout for gladness, triumph o’er sadness,
loving and praising, voices still raising
glad hymns forever: Alleluia!

Through the Bible in One Year:
Judges 11 to 20
1 Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior. He was a prostitute’s son. Gilead was Jephthah’s father,
2 but Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and the sons of this wife, when they grew up, drove Jephthah away, saying, ‘No share of the paternal heritage for you, since you are a son of another woman.’
3 Jephthah fled far from his brothers and settled in the territory of Tob. Jephthah enlisted a group of adventurers who used to go raiding with him.
4 It was some time after this that the Ammonites made war on Israel.
5 And when the Ammonites had attacked Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah from the territory of Tob.
6 ‘Come’, they said, ‘and be our commander, so that we can fight the Ammonites.’
7 Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, ‘Didn’t you hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why come to me now, when you are in trouble?’
8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, ‘That is why we are turning to you now. Come with us; fight the Ammonites and be our chief, chief of all the people living in Gilead.’
9 Jephthah then said to the elders of Gilead, ‘If you bring me home to fight the Ammonites and Yahweh defeats them for me, I am to be your chief?’
10 And the elders of Gilead then said to Jephthah, ‘Yahweh be witness between us, if we do not do as you have said!’
11 So Jephthah set off with the elders of Gilead. The people put him at their head as chief and commander; and Jephthah repeated all his conditions at Mizpah in Yahweh’s presence.
12 Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites to say to him, ‘What do you have against us, for you to come and make war on my country?’
13 The king of the Ammonites replied to Jephthah’s messengers, ‘The reason is that when Israel came up from Egypt, they seized my country from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; so now restore it to me peacefully.’
14 Jephthah sent messengers back to the king of the Ammonites
15 with this answer, ‘Jephthah says this, “Israel seized neither the country of Moab nor the country of the Ammonites.
16 When Israel came out of Egypt, they marched through the desert as far as the Sea of Reeds and, having reached Kadesh,
17 Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom to say: Please let me pass through your country, but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent similarly to the king of Moab, but he refused, and Israel remained at Kadesh;
18 later, moving on through the desert and skirting the countries of Edom and Moab until arriving to the east of Moabite territory, the people camped on the other side of the Arnon but did not enter Moabite territory, the Arnon being the Moabite frontier.
19 Israel then sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, ruling in Heshbon. Israel’s message was: Please let me pass through your country to my destination.
20 But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory; he mustered his whole army; they encamped at Jahaz, and he then joined battle with Israel.
21 Yahweh, God of Israel, delivered Sihon and his whole army into the power of Israel, who defeated them; as the result of which, Israel took possession of the entire territory of the Amorites living in that region.
22 Israel took possession of all the Amorite territory from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.
23 And now that Yahweh, God of Israel, has dispossessed the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can dispossess us?
24 Will you not keep as your possession whatever Chemosh, your god, has given you? And, just the same, we shall keep as ours whatever Yahweh our God has given us, to inherit from those who were before us!
25 Are you a better man than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he pick a quarrel with Israel? Did he make war on them?
26 When Israel settled in Heshbon and its dependencies, and in Aroer and its dependencies, or in any of the towns on the banks of the Arnon (three hundred years ago), why did you not recover them then?
27 I for my part have done you no harm, but you are wronging me by making war on me. Let Yahweh the Judge give judgement today between the Israelites and the king of the Ammonites.” ‘
28 But the king of the Ammonites took no notice of the message that Jephthah sent him.
29 The spirit of Yahweh was on Jephthah, who crossed Gilead and Manasseh, crossed by way of Mizpah in Gilead, and from Mizpah in Gilead crossed into Ammonite territory.
30 And Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh, ‘If you deliver the Ammonites into my grasp,
31 the first thing to come out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from fighting the Ammonites shall belong to Yahweh, and I shall sacrifice it as a burnt offering.’
32 Jephthah crossed into Ammonite territory to attack them, and Yahweh delivered them into his grasp.
33 He beat them from Aroer to the border of Minnith (twenty towns) and to Abel-Keramim. It was a very severe defeat, and the Ammonites were humbled by the Israelites.
34 As Jephthah returned to his house at Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him, dancing to the sound of tambourines. She was his only child; apart from her, he had neither son nor daughter.
35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and exclaimed, ‘Oh my daughter, what misery you have brought upon me! You have joined those who bring misery into my life! I have made a promise before Yahweh which I cannot retract.’
36 She replied, ‘Father, you have made a promise to Yahweh; treat me as the promise that you have made requires, since Yahweh has granted you vengeance on your enemies the Ammonites.’
37 She then said to her father, ‘Grant me this! Let me be free for two months. I shall go and wander in the mountains, and with my companions bewail my virginity.’
38 He replied, ‘Go,’ and let her go away for two months. So she went away with her companions and bewailed her virginity in the mountains.
39 When the two months were over she went back to her father, and he treated her as the vow that he had uttered bound him. She had remained a virgin. And hence, the custom in Israel
40 for the daughters of Israel to leave home year by year and lament over the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days every year.
1 The men of Ephraim mobilised; they crossed the Jordan near Zaphon and said to Jephthah, ‘Why did you go and make war on the Ammonites without asking us to go with you? We shall burn down your house over your head!’
2 Jephthah replied, ‘My people and I were in serious conflict with the Ammonites. I summoned you, but you did not come to rescue me from them.
3 When I saw that no one was coming to rescue me, I took my life in my hands and marched against the Ammonites, and Yahweh handed them over to me. So why advance on me today to make war on me?’
4 Jephthah then mustered all the men of Gilead and made war on Ephraim, and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim — since the latter used to say, ‘You are only fugitives from Ephraim, you Gileadites in the heart of Ephraim and Manasseh.’
5 Gilead then cut Ephraim off from the fords of the Jordan, and whenever Ephraimite fugitives said, ‘Let me cross,’ the men of Gilead would ask, ‘Are you an Ephraimite?’ If he said, ‘No,’
6 they then said, ‘Very well, say Shibboleth.’ If anyone said, “Sibboleth”, because he could not pronounce it, then they would seize him and kill him by the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites fell on this occasion.
7 Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Jephthah the Gileadite then died and was buried in his town, in Gilead.
8 After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem was judge in Israel.
9 He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters in marriage outside his clan and brought in thirty brides from outside for his sons. He was judge in Israel for seven years.
10 Ibzan then died and was buried in Bethlehem.
11 After him, Elon of Zebulun was judge in Israel. He was judge in Israel for ten years.
12 Elon of Zebulun then died and was buried at Aijalon in the territory of Zebulun.
13 After him, Abdon son of Hillel of Pirathon was judge in Israel.
14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode seventy young donkeys. He was judge in Israel for eight years.
15 Abdon son of Hillel of Pirathon then died and was buried at Pirathon in the territory of Ephraim, in the Amalekite highlands.
1 Again the Israelites began doing what is evil in Yahweh’s eyes, and Yahweh delivered them into the power of the Philistines for forty years.
2 There was a man of Zorah of the tribe of Dan, called Manoah. His wife was barren; she had borne no children.
3 The Angel of Yahweh appeared to this woman and said to her, ‘You are barren and have had no child, but you are going to conceive and give birth to a son.
4 From now on, take great care. Drink no wine or fermented liquor, and eat nothing unclean.
5 For you are going to conceive and give birth to a son. No razor is to touch his head, for the boy is to be God’s nazirite from his mother’s womb; and he will start rescuing Israel from the power of the Philistines.’
6 The woman then went and told her husband, ‘A man of God has just come to me, who looked like the Angel of God, so majestic was he. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.
7 But he said to me, “You are going to conceive and will give birth to a son. From now on, drink no wine or fermented liquor, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy is to be God’s nazirite from his mother’s womb to his dying day.” ‘
8 Manoah then pleaded with Yahweh and said, ‘I beg you, Lord, let the man of God that you sent come to us again and instruct us what to do about the child when he is born.’
9 Yahweh heard Manoah’s prayer, and the Angel of Yahweh visited the woman again while she was sitting in a field and when her husband Manoah was not with her.
10 The woman quickly ran and told her husband, ‘Look,’ she said, ‘the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me again.’
11 Manoah got up, followed his wife, came to the man and said to him, ‘Are you the man who spoke to this woman?’ He replied, ‘I am.’
12 Manoah then said, ‘When your words come true, what will be the boy’s way of life?’
13 The Angel of Yahweh replied to Manoah, ‘From everything that I forbade this woman, let her abstain.
14 Let her swallow nothing that comes from the vine, let her drink no wine or fermented liquor, let her eat nothing unclean and let her obey all the orders that I have given her.’
15 Manoah then said to the Angel of Yahweh, ‘Allow us to detain you while we prepare a kid for you’ — for Manoah did not know that this was the Angel of Yahweh.
16 The Angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, ‘Even if you did detain me, I should not eat your food; but if you wish to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to Yahweh.’
17 Manoah then said to the Angel of Yahweh, ‘What is your name, so that we may honour you when your words come true?’
18 The Angel of Yahweh replied, ‘Why ask my name? It is a name of wonder.’
19 Manoah then took the kid and the oblation and offered it on the rock as a burnt offering to Yahweh the Wonderworker. Manoah and his wife looked on.
20 Now, as the flame rose heavenwards from the altar, the Angel of Yahweh ascended in this flame before the eyes of Manoah and his wife, and they fell face downwards on the ground.
21 After this, the Angel of Yahweh did not appear any more to Manoah and his wife, but Manoah understood that this had been the Angel of Yahweh.
22 And Manoah said to his wife, ‘We are certain to die, because we have seen God.’
23 His wife replied, ‘If Yahweh had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and oblation from us, he would not have let us see all this and, at the same time, have told us such things.’
24 The woman gave birth to a son and called him Samson. The child grew, and Yahweh blessed him;
25 and the spirit of Yahweh began to stir him in the Camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
1 Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he noticed a woman, a Philistine girl.
2 He went home again and told his father and mother this. ‘At Timnah’, he said, ‘I noticed a woman, a Philistine girl. So now get her for me, to be my wife.’
3 His father and mother said to him, ‘Is there no woman among your brothers’ daughters or in our entire nation, for you to go and take a wife among these uncircumcised Philistines?’ But Samson said to his father, ‘Get that one for me; she is the one I am for me; she is the one I am fond of.’
4 His father and mother did not know that all this came from Yahweh, who was seeking grounds for a quarrel with the Philistines, since at this time the Philistines dominated Israel.
5 Samson went down to Timnah and, as he reached the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a young lion coming roaring towards him.
6 The spirit of Yahweh seized on him and he tore the lion to pieces with his bare hands as though it were a kid; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.
7 He went down and talked to the woman, and he became fond of her.
8 Not long after this, Samson went back to marry her. He went out of his way to look at the carcase of the lion, and there was a swarm of bees in the lion’s body, and honey.
9 He took up some honey in his hand and ate it as he went along. On returning to his father and mother, he gave some to them, which they ate too, but he did not tell them that he had taken it from the lion’s carcase.
10 His father then went down to the woman, and Samson made a feast there, as is the custom for young men.
11 And when the Philistines saw him, they chose thirty companions to stay with him.
12 Samson then said to them, ‘Let me ask you a riddle. If you can give me the answer during the seven days of feasting, I shall give you thirty pieces of fine linen and thirty festal robes.
13 But if you cannot tell me the answer, then you in your turn must give me thirty pieces of fine linen and thirty festal robes.’ ‘Ask your riddle,’ they replied, ‘we are listening.’
14 So he said to them: Out of the eater came what is eaten, and out of the strong came what is sweet. But three days went by and they could not solve the riddle.
15 On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, ‘Cajole your husband into explaining the riddle to us, or we shall burn you and your father’s family to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?’
16 Samson’s wife then went to him in tears and said, ‘You only hate me, you do not love me. You have asked my fellow countrymen a riddle and told not even me the answer.’ He said to her, ‘I have not told even my father or mother; why should I tell you?’
17 She wept on his neck for the seven days that their feasting lasted. She was so persistent that on the seventh day he told her the answer, and she told her fellow-countrymen.
18 So on the seventh day, before he went into the bedroom, the men of the town said to him: What is sweeter than honey, and what stronger than a lion? He retorted: If you had not ploughed with my heifer, you would never have solved my riddle.
19 Then the spirit of Yahweh seized on him. He went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty men there, took what they wore and gave the festal robes to those who had answered the riddle, then burning with rage returned to his father’s house.
20 Samson’s wife was then given to the companion who had acted as his best man.
1 Not long after this, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife, with a kid; he said, ‘I wish to go to my wife in her room.’ But her father would not let him enter.
2 ‘I felt sure’, he said, ‘that you had taken a real dislike to her, so I gave her to your companion. But would not her younger sister suit you better? Have her instead.’
3 But Samson answered them, ‘I can get my revenge on the Philistines now only by doing them some damage.’
4 So Samson went off and caught three hundred foxes, then took torches and, turning the foxes tail to tail, put a torch between each pair of tails.
5 He lit the torches and set the foxes free in the Philistines’ cornfields. In this way he burned both sheaves and standing corn, and the vines and olive trees as well.
6 The Philistines asked, ‘Who has done this?’ and received the answer, ‘Samson, who married the Timnite’s daughter; his father-in-law took the wife back again and gave her to his companion instead.’ The Philistines then went and burned the woman and her father’s family to death.
7 Samson said to them, ‘If that is how you behave, I swear I will not rest till I have had my revenge on you.’
8 And he fell on them systematically and caused great havoc. Then he went down to the cave in the Rock of Etham and lived there.
9 The Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a foray against Lehi.
10 The men of Judah said to them, ‘Why are you attacking us?’ They replied, ‘We have come to seize Samson and to treat him as he has treated us.’
11 Three thousand men of Judah then went down to the cave of the Rock of Etham and said to him, ‘Don’t you know that the Philistines have us in their power? Now what have you done to us?’ He replied, ‘I have treated them only as they treated me.’
12 They then said, ‘We have come down to take you, to hand you over to the Philistines.’ He said, ‘Swear to me not to kill me yourselves.’
13 They replied, ‘No; we only want to bind you and hand you over to them; we certainly do not want to kill you.’ They then bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the Rock.
14 As he was approaching Lehi, and the Philistines came running towards him with triumphant shouts, the spirit of Yahweh was on him; the ropes on his arms became like burnt strands of flax and the cords round his hands came untied.
15 Coming across the fresh jawbone of a donkey, he reached out and snatched it up; and with it he slaughtered a thousand men.
16 And Samson said: With the jawbone of a donkey I have laid them in heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have felled a thousand men.
17 And with that he hurled the jawbone away; and that is why the place was called Ramath-Lehi.
18 And as he was very thirsty, he called on Yahweh and said, ‘You yourself have worked this great deliverance by the hand of your servant; and now must I die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?’
19 Then God opened a hollow in the ground, the hollow there is at Lehi, and water gushed out of it. Samson drank; his vigour returned and he revived. And therefore this spring was called En-ha-Kore; it is still at Lehi today.
20 Samson was judge in Israel in the days of the Philistines for twenty years.
1 Samson then went to Gaza and, seeing a prostitute there, went in to her.
2 The men of Gaza being told, ‘Samson has arrived,’ surrounded the place and kept watch for him the whole night at the town gate. All that night they were going to make no move, thinking, ‘Let us wait until daybreak, and then kill him.’
3 Till midnight, however, Samson stayed in bed, and then at midnight he got up, seized the doors of the town gate and the two posts as well; he tore them up, bar and all, hoisted them on to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill overlooking Hebron.
4 After this, he fell in love with a woman in the Vale of Sorek; she was called Delilah.
5 The Philistine chiefs visited her and said, ‘Cajole him and find out where his great strength comes from, and how we can master him, so that we can bind him and subdue him. In return we shall each give you eleven hundred silver shekels.’
6 Delilah said to Samson, ‘Please tell me where your great strength comes from, and what would be needed to bind and subdue you.’
7 Samson replied, ‘If I were bound with seven new bowstrings which had not yet been dried, I should lose my strength and become like any other man.’
8 The Philistine chiefs brought Delilah seven new bowstrings which had not yet been dried and she took them and bound him with them.
9 She had men concealed in her room, and she shouted, ‘The Philistines are on you, Samson!’ Then he snapped the bowstrings as a strand of tow snaps at a touch of the fire. So the secret of his strength remained unknown.
10 Delilah then said to Samson, ‘You have been laughing at me and telling me lies. But now please tell me what would be needed to bind you.’
11 He replied, ‘If I were bound tightly with new ropes which have never been used, I should lose my strength and become like any other man.’
12 Delilah then took new ropes and bound him with them, and she shouted, ‘The Philistines are on you, Samson!’ She had men concealed in her room, but he snapped the ropes round his arms like thread.
13 Delilah then said to Samson, ‘Up to now you have been laughing at me and telling me lies. Tell me what would be needed to bind you.’ He replied, ‘If you wove the seven locks of my hair into the warp of a cloth and beat them together tight with the reed, I should lose my strength and become like any other man.’
14 She lulled him to sleep, then wove the seven locks of his hair into the warp, beat them together tight with the reed and shouted, ‘The Philistines are on you, Samson!’ He woke from his sleep and pulled out both reed and warp. So the secret of his strength remained unknown.
15 Delilah said to him, ‘How can you say that you love me, when your heart is not with me? Three times now you have laughed at me and have not told me where your great strength comes from.’
16 And day after day she pestered him with her talk, nagging him till he grew sick to death of it.
17 At last he confided everything to her; he said to her, ‘A razor has never touched my head, because I have been God’s nazirite from my mother’s womb. If my head were shorn, then my power would leave me and I should lose my strength and become like any other man.’
18 Delilah then realized that he had really confided in her; she sent for the Philistine princes with the message, ‘Come just once more: he has confided everything to me.’ And the Philistine chiefs came to her with the money in their hands.
19 She lulled Samson to sleep in her lap, summoned a man and had him shear off the seven locks from his head. Thus for the first time she got control over him, and his strength left him.
20 She cried, ‘The Philistines are on you, Samson!’ He awoke from sleep, thinking, ‘I shall break free as I have done time after time and shake myself clear.’ But he did not know that Yahweh had left him.
21 The Philistines seized him, put out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. They fettered him with a double chain of bronze and he spent his time turning the mill in the prison.
22 But his hair began to grow again when it had been cut off.
23 The Philistine chiefs assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god. And amid their festivities they said: Into our hands our god has delivered Samson our enemy.
24 And as soon as the people saw their god, they acclaimed him, shouting his praises: Into our hands our god has delivered Samson our enemy, the man who laid our country waste and killed so many of us.
25 And as their hearts were full of joy, they shouted, ‘Summon Samson out to amuse us.’ So Samson was summoned from prison, and he performed feats in front of them; then he was put to stand between the pillars.
26 Samson then said to the boy who was leading him by the hand, ‘Lead me where I can touch the pillars supporting the building, so that I can lean against them.’
27 Now the building was crowded with men and women. All the Philistine chiefs were there, while about three thousand men and women were watching Samson’s feats from the terrace.
28 Samson called on Yahweh and cried out, ‘Lord Yahweh, I beg you, remember me; give me strength again this once, O God, and let me be revenged on the Philistines at one blow for my two eyes.’
29 And Samson took hold of the two central pillars supporting the building, and braced himself with his right arm round one and his left round the other;
30 and he shouted, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’ He then heaved with all his might, and the building fell on the chiefs and on all the people there. Those whom he brought to their death by his death outnumbered those whom he had done to death during his life.
31 His brothers and the whole of his father’s family came down and carried him away. They took him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel for twenty years.
1 In the highlands of Ephraim there was a man called Micayehu.
2 He said to his mother, ‘The eleven hundred silver shekels which were taken from you and concerning which you uttered a curse, having said in my hearing . . . Look, I have got that silver. I was the one who took it.’ His mother said, ‘May Yahweh bless my boy!’
3 He gave the eleven hundred shekels back to his mother, who said, ‘I have indeed vowed to give this silver to Yahweh for my son, to have a statue carved and an idol cast in metal, but now I should like to give it back to you.’ He, however, returned the money to his mother.
4 His mother then took two hundred silver shekels and gave them to the metalworker. With them, he carved a statue (and cast an idol in metal) which was put in Micayehu’s house.
5 This man Micah owned a shrine; he made an ephod and some domestic images, and installed one of his sons to be his priest.
6 In those days there was no king in Israel, and everyone did as he saw fit.
7 There was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the clan of Judah, who was a Levite and resided there as a stranger.
8 This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to settle wherever he could find a home. On his travels he came to the highlands of Ephraim and to Micah’s house.
9 Micah asked him, ‘Where do you come from?’ The other replied, ‘I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am travelling, and am going to settle wherever I can find a home.’
10 Micah said to him, ‘Stay here with me; be my father and priest and I shall give you ten silver shekels a year, and clothing and food.’
11 The Levite agreed to remain in the man’s house, and the young man became like one of his sons to him.
12 Micah installed the Levite; the young man became Micah’s priest and stayed in his house.
13 And Micah said, ‘Now I know that Yahweh will treat me well, since I have this Levite as priest.’
1 In those days there was no king in Israel. Now in those days the tribe of Dan was in search of a territory to live in, for until then no territory had fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.
2 From their clan the Danites sent five brave men from Zorah and Eshtaol to reconnoitre the country and explore it. They said to them, ‘Go and explore the country.’ The five men came to the highlands of Ephraim, as far as Micah’s house, and spent the night there.
3 When they were near Micah’s house, they recognised the voice of the young Levite and, going nearer, said to him, ‘Who brought you here? What are you doing here? What is keeping you here?’
4 He replied, ‘Micah has made certain arrangements with me. He pays me a wage and I act as his priest.’
5 They replied, ‘Then consult God, so that we may know whether the journey we are on will lead to success.’
6 The priest replied, ‘Go in peace; Yahweh is watching over your journey.’
7 The five men then left and, arriving at Laish, saw that the people living there had an untroubled existence, according to the customs of the Sidonians, peaceful and trusting, that there was no lack or shortage of any sort in the territory, that they were a long way away from the Sidonians and that they had no contact with the Aramaeans.
8 They then went back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol and, when the latter asked them, ‘What have you to report?’
9 they said, ‘Up! we must go against them, since we have looked at the country and it is excellent, though you take no action! Waste no time in setting out and taking possession of the country.
10 When you get there, you will find a trusting people. The country is wide, and God has put it at your mercy. It is a place where there is no lack of anything on earth.’
11 From these places, consequently, from the clan of Danites at Zorah and Eshtaol, six hundred men set out equipped for war.
12 They went up and camped at Kiriath-Jearim in Judah; and for this reason the place is still called the Camp of Dan today. It lies to the west of Kiriath-Jearim.
13 From there they entered the highlands of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.
14 The five men who had been to reconnoitre the country then spoke to their brothers. ‘Do you know’, they said, ‘that in these houses there is an ephod, some domestic images, a carved statue and an idol cast in metal? So now work out what you have got to do!
15 So, turning off the road, they went to the young Levite’s dwelling, to Micah’s house, and greeted him peacefully.
16 While the six hundred men of the Danites, equipped for war, stood at the threshold of the gate,
17 the five who had been to reconnoitre the country went on into the house and took the carved statue, the ephod, the domestic images and the idol cast in metal; meanwhile the priest remained at the threshold of the gate with the six hundred men equipped for war.
18 These men, having entered Micah’s house, took the carved statue, the ephod, the domestic images and the idol cast in metal. The priest, however, said, ‘What are you doing?’
19 ‘Be quiet,’ they replied. ‘Put your hand over your mouth and come with us, and become our father and priest. Are you better off as domestic priest to one man, or as priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?’
20 The priest was delighted; he took the ephod, the domestic images and the carved statue, and went off among the people.
21 Resuming their original line of march, they set off, having put the women, children, livestock and baggage out in front.
22 They had gone some distance from Micah’s house, when the people living in the houses near Micah’s house raised the alarm and set off in pursuit of the Danites.
23 As they shouted after the Danites, the latter, turning about, said to Micah, ‘What is the matter with you, that you are shouting like this?’
24 He replied, ‘You have taken away my god, which I have had made, and the priest as well. You are going away, and what have I got left? And now you ask me, “What is the matter?” ‘
25 The Danites said, ‘Let us hear no more from you, or quick-tempered men may set about you, and this might cost you your life and the lives of your family!’
26 So the Danites went on their way; and Micah, seeing that they were the stronger, turned and went home.
27 So, having taken the god made by Micah, and the priest who had been his, the Danites marched on Laish, on a peaceful and trusting people. They put it to the sword and they burned down the town.
28 There was no one to come to the rescue, since it was a long way from Sidon and had no contact with the Aramaeans. It lay in the valley running towards Beth-Rehob. They rebuilt the town and settled in it
29 and called it Dan, from the name of Dan their ancestor who had been born to Israel; originally, however, the town had been called Laish.
30 The Danites erected the carved statue for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons after him were priests for the tribe of Dan till the day when the inhabitants of the country were carried away into exile.
31 The carved statue made by Micah they installed for their own use, and there it stayed as long as the house of God remained at Shiloh.
1 In those days, when there was no king in Israel, there was a man, a Levite, whose home was deep in the highlands of Ephraim. He took as concubine a woman from Bethlehem in Judah.
2 In a fit of anger his concubine left him and went back to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and she stayed there for some time — four months.
3 Her husband then set out after her, to appeal to her affections and fetch her back; he had his servant and two donkeys with him. As he was arriving at the house of the girl’s father, the father saw him and came happily to meet him.
4 His father-in-law, the girl’s father, kept him there; and he stayed with him for three days; they ate and drank and spent the nights there.
5 On the fourth day they got up early, and the Levite was preparing to leave when the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, ‘Have something to eat to gather strength; you can leave later.’
6 So they sat down and began eating and drinking, the two of them together; then the girl’s father said to the young man, ‘Please agree to spend tonight here too and enjoy yourself.’
7 And when the man got up to leave, the father-in-law pressed him again, and he spent another night there.
8 On the fifth day, the Levite got up early to leave, but the girl’s father said to him, ‘Please gather strength first!’ So they stayed on until the sun began to go down, and the two men had a meal together.
9 The husband was getting up to leave with his concubine and his servant when his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said, ‘Look, day is fading into evening. Please spend the night here. Look, the day is nearly over. Spend the night here and enjoy yourself. Then, early tomorrow, you can leave on your journey and go back home.’
10 But the man, refusing to stay the night, got up and went on his way, until he arrived within sight of Jebus — that is, Jerusalem. He had with him two donkeys saddled, his concubine and his servant.
11 By the time they were near Jebus, the light was going fast. The servant said to his master, ‘Come on, please, let us turn off into this Jebusite town and spend the night there.’
12 His master replied, ‘We shall not turn off into a town of foreigners, of people who are not Israelites; we shall go on to Gibeah.’
13 He then said to his servant, ‘Come on, we shall try to reach one or other of those places, either Gibeah or Ramah, and spend the night there.’
14 So they kept going and went on with their journey. As they approached Gibeah in Benjamin, the sun was setting.
15 So they turned that way to spend the night in Gibeah. Once inside, the Levite sat down in the town square, but no one offered to take them in for the night.
16 Eventually, an old man came along at nightfall from his work in the fields. He too was from the highlands of Ephraim, although he was living in Gibeah; the people of the place, however, were Benjaminites.
17 Looking up, he saw the traveller in the town square. ‘Where are you going?’ said the old man, ‘And where have you come from?’
18 ‘We are on our way’, the other replied, ‘from Bethlehem in Judah to a place deep in the highlands of Ephraim. That is where I come from. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going home, but no one has offered to take me into his house,
19 although we have straw and provender for our donkeys, and I also have bread and wine for myself, and this maidservant and the young man who is travelling with your servant; we are short of nothing.’
20 ‘Welcome,’ said the old man. ‘I shall see that you have all you want. You cannot spend the night in the square.’
21 So he took him into his house and gave the donkeys provender. The travellers washed their feet, then ate and drank.
22 While they were enjoying themselves, some townsmen, scoundrels, came crowding round the house; they battered on the door and said to the old man, master of the house, ‘Send out the man who went into your house, we should like to have intercourse with him!’
23 The master of the house went out to them and said, ‘No, brothers, please, do not be so wicked. Since this man is now under my roof, do not commit such an infamy.
24 Here is my daughter; she is a virgin; I shall bring her out to you. Ill-treat her, do what you please with her, but do not commit such an infamy against this man.’
25 But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took hold of his concubine and brought her out to them. They had intercourse with her and ill-treated her all night till morning; when dawn was breaking they let her go.
26 At daybreak the girl came and fell on the threshold of her husband’s host, and she stayed there until it was light.
27 In the morning her husband got up and, opening the door of the house, was going out to continue his journey when he saw the woman, his concubine, lying at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold.
28 ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘we must leave!’ There was no answer. He then loaded her on his donkey and began the journey home.
29 Having reached his house, he took his knife, took hold of his concubine and cut her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces; he then sent her throughout the territory of Israel.
30 He gave instructions to his messengers, ‘This is what you are to say to all the Israelites, “Has anything like this been done since the day when the Israelites came out of Egypt until today? Take this to heart, discuss it; then give your verdict.” ‘ And all who saw it declared, ‘Never has such a thing been done or been seen since the Israelites came out of Egypt until today.’
1 The Israelites then all turned out and, as one man, the entire community from Dan to Beersheba, including Gilead, assembled in Yahweh’s presence at Mizpah.
2 The leaders of the entire people, of all the tribes of Israel, were present at this assembly of God’s people, four hundred thousand trained infantry.
3 The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. The Israelites then said, ‘Tell us how this crime was committed.’
4 The Levite, husband of the murdered woman, spoke in reply and said,
5 ‘The men of Gibeah ganged up against me and, during the night, surrounded the house where I was lodging. They intended to murder me. They raped my concubine to death.
6 I then took my concubine, cut her up and sent her throughout the entire territory of the heritage of Israel, since these men had committed a shameful act, an infamy, in Israel.
7 Now, all you Israelites, discuss the matter and give your decision here and now.’
8 The whole people stood up as one man and said, ‘None of us will go home, none of us will go back to his house!
9 And this is what we are now going to do to Gibeah. We shall draw lots
10 and, throughout the tribes of Israel, select ten men out of a hundred, a hundred out of a thousand and a thousand out of ten thousand to collect food for the people, so that, on their arrival, the latter may treat Gibeah in Benjamin as this infamy perpetrated in Israel deserves.’
11 Thus, as one man, all the men of Israel mustered against the town.
12 The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin to say, ‘What is this crime which has been committed in your territory?
13 Now, give up these men, these scoundrels, living in Gibeah, so that we can put them to death and wipe out this evil from Israel.’ The Benjaminites, however, would not listen to their brother Israelites.
14 The Benjaminites left their towns and mustered at Gibeah to fight the Israelites.
15 At the time, a count was made of the Benjaminites from the various towns: there were twenty-six thousand swordsmen; and the count excluded the inhabitants of Gibeah.
16 In this great army there were seven hundred first-rate left-handers, every man of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss it.
17 A count was also held of the men of Israel, excluding Benjamin: there were four hundred thousand men, all experienced swordsmen.
18 They moved off, up to Bethel, to consult God. The Israelites put the question, ‘Which of us is to go first into battle against the Benjaminites?’ And Yahweh replied, ‘Judah is to go first.’
19 In the morning, the Israelites moved off and pitched their camp over against Gibeah.
20 The men of Israel advanced to do battle with Benjamin; they drew up their battle line in front of Gibeah.
21 But the Benjaminites sallied out from Gibeah and that day massacred twenty-two thousand Israelites.
22 The army of the men of Israel then took fresh heart and again drew up their battle line in the same place as the day before.
23 The Israelites went and wept before Yahweh until evening; they then consulted Yahweh; they asked, ‘Shall we join battle again with the sons of our brother Benjamin?’ Yahweh replied, ‘March against him!’
24 This second day, the Israelites advanced against the Benjaminites,
25 and, this second day, Benjamin sallied out from Gibeah to meet them and massacred another eighteen thousand Israelites, all experienced swordsmen.
26 Then all the Israelites and the whole people went off to Bethel; they wept and sat in Yahweh’s presence; they fasted all day till the evening and presented burnt offerings and communion sacrifices before Yahweh.
27 The Israelites then consulted Yahweh. In those days, the ark of the covenant of God was there,
28 and Phinehas son of Eleazer, son of Aaron was its minister at the time. They said, ‘Ought I to go into battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin again, or should I stop?’ Yahweh replied, ‘March! For tomorrow I shall deliver him into your hands.’
29 Israel then positioned troops in ambush all round Gibeah.
30 On the third day the Israelites marched against the Benjaminites and, as before, drew up their line in front of Gibeah.
31 The Benjaminites sallied out to engage the people and let themselves be drawn away from the town. As before, they began by killing those of the people who were on the roads, one of which runs up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah through open country: some thirty men of Israel.
32 The Benjaminites thought, ‘We have beaten them, as we did the first time,’ but the Israelites had decided, ‘We shall run away and draw them away from the town along the roads.’
33 All the Israelites then retreated and reformed at Baal-Tamar, while the Israelite troops in ambush surged from their positions to the west of Gibeah.
34 Ten thousand picked men, chosen from the whole of Israel, launched their attack on Gibeah. The battle was fierce; and the others knew nothing of the disaster impending.
35 Yahweh defeated Benjamin before Israel and that day the Israelites killed twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin, all of them trained swordsmen.
36 The Benjaminites saw that they were beaten. The Israelites had given ground to Benjamin, since they were relying on the ambush which they had positioned close to Gibeah.
37 The troops in ambush threw themselves against Gibeah at top speed; fanning out, they put the whole town to the sword.
38 Now it had been agreed between the Israelites and those of the ambush that the latter should raise a smoke signal from the town,
39 whereupon the Israelites in the thick of the battle would turn about. Benjamin began by killing some of the Israelites, about thirty men, and thought, ‘We have certainly beaten them, as we did in the first battle.’
40 But the signal, a column of smoke, began to rise from the town, and the Benjaminites looking back saw the whole town going up in flames to the sky.
41 The Israelites then turned about, and the Benjaminites were seized with terror, for they saw that disaster had struck them.
42 They broke before the Israelite onslaught and made for the desert, but the fighters pressed them hard, while the others coming out of the town took and slaughtered them from the rear.
43 They hemmed in the Benjaminites, pursued them relentlessly, crushing them opposite Gibeah on the east.
44 Of Benjamin, eighteen thousand men fell, all of them brave men.
45 They then turned tail and fled into the desert, towards the Rock of Rimmon. Five thousand of them were picked off on the roads, and the rest were relentlessly pursued as far as Gideon, two thousand of them being killed.
46 The total number of Benjaminites who fell that day was twenty-five thousand swordsmen, all of them brave men.
47 Six hundred men, however, turned tail and escaped into the desert, to the Rock of Rimmon, and there they stayed for four months.
48 The men of Israel then went back to the Benjaminites, and put them to the sword-people, livestock and everything else that came their way in the town. And they fired all the towns involved.(New Jerusalem Bible)

Daily Office for Wednesday, January 25, 2012:
Psalm 119:49-72
49 Keep in mind your promise to your servant on which I have built my hope.
50 It is my comfort in distress, that your promise gives me life.
51 Endlessly the arrogant have jeered at me, but I have not swerved from your Law.
52 I have kept your age — old judgements in mind, Yahweh, and I am comforted.
53 Fury grips me when I see the wicked who abandon your Law.
54 Your judgements are my song where I live in exile.
55 All night, Yahweh, I hold your name in mind, I keep your Law.
56 This is what it means to me, observing your precepts.
57 My task, I have said, Yahweh, is to keep your word.
58 Wholeheartedly I entreat your favour; true to your promise, take pity on me!
59 I have reflected on my ways, and I turn my steps to your instructions.
60 I hurry without delay to keep your commandments.
61 Though caught in the snares of the wicked, I do not forget your Law.
62 At midnight I rise to praise you for your upright judgements.
63 I am a friend to all who fear you and keep your precepts.
64 Your faithful love fills the earth, Yahweh, teach me your judgements.
65 You have been generous to your servant, Yahweh, true to your promise.
66 Teach me judgement and knowledge, for I rely on your commandments.
67 Before I was punished I used to go astray, but now I keep to your promise.
68 You are generous and act generously, teach me your will.
69 The arrogant blacken me with lies though I wholeheartedly observe your precepts.
70 Their hearts are gross like rich fat, but my delight is in your Law.
71 It was good for me that I had to suffer, the better to learn your judgements.
72 The Law you have uttered is more precious to me than all the wealth in the world.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 49
1 [For the choirmaster Of the sons of Korah Psalm] Hear this, all nations, listen, all who dwell on earth,
2 people high and low, rich and poor alike!
3 My lips have wisdom to utter, my heart good sense to whisper.
4 I listen carefully to a proverb, I set my riddle to the music of the harp.
5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble? Malice dogs me and hems me in.
6 They trust in their wealth, and boast of the profusion of their riches.
7 But no one can ever redeem himself or pay his own ransom to God,
8 the price for himself is too high; it can never be
9 that he will live on for ever and avoid the sight of the abyss.
10 For he will see the wise also die no less than the fool and the brute, and leave their wealth behind for others.
11 For ever no home but their tombs, their dwelling-place age after age, though they gave their name to whole territories.
12 In prosperity people lose their good sense, they become no better than dumb animals.
13 So they go on in their self-assurance, right up to the end they are content with their lot.Pause
14 They are penned in Sheol like sheep, Death will lead them to pasture, and those who are honest will rule over them. In the morning all trace of them will be gone, Sheol will be their home.
15 But my soul God will ransom from the clutches of Sheol, and will snatch me up.Pause
16 Do not be overawed when someone gets rich, and lives in ever greater splendour;
17 when he dies he will take nothing with him, his wealth will not go down with him.
18 Though he pampered himself while he lived — and people praise you for looking after yourself-
19 he will go to join the ranks of his ancestors, who will never again see the light.
20 In prosperity people lose their good sense, they become no better than dumb animals.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 53
1 [For the choirmaster In sickness Poem Of David] The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God!’ They are corrupt, vile and unjust, not one of them does right.
2 God looks down from heaven at the children of Adam, to see if a single one is wise, a single one seeks God.
3 All have proved faithless, all alike turned sour, not one of them does right, not a single one.
4 Are they not aware, these evil-doers? They are devouring my people; this is the bread they eat, and they never call upon God.
5 They will be gripped with fear, just where there is no need for fear, for God scatters the bones of him who besieges you; they are mocked because God rejects them.
6 Who will bring from Zion salvation for Israel? When God brings his people home, what joy for Jacob, what happiness for Israel!(New Jerusalem Bible)
Genesis 16:1-14
1 Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no child, but she had an Egyptian slave-girl called Hagar.
2 So Sarai said to Abram, ‘Listen, now! Since Yahweh has kept me from having children, go to my slave-girl. Perhaps I shall get children through her.’ And Abram took Sarai’s advice.
3 Thus, after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan for ten years, Sarai took Hagar her Egyptian slave-girl and gave her to Abram as his wife.
4 He went to Hagar and she conceived. And once she knew she had conceived, her mistress counted for nothing in her eyes.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘This outrage done to me is your fault! It was I who put my slave-girl into your arms but, now she knows that she has conceived, I count for nothing in her eyes. Yahweh judge between me and you!’
6 ‘Very well,’ Abram said to Sarai, ‘your slave-girl is at your disposal. Treat her as you think fit.’ Sarai accordingly treated her so badly that she ran away from her.
7 The angel of Yahweh found her by a spring in the desert, the spring on the road to Shur.
8 He said, ‘Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?’ ‘I am running away from my mistress Sarai,’ she replied.
9 The angel of Yahweh said to her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’
10 The angel of Yahweh further said to her, ‘I shall make your descendants too numerous to be counted.’
11 Then the angel of Yahweh said to her: Now, you have conceived and will bear a son, and you shall name him Ishmael, for Yahweh has heard your cries of distress.
12 A wild donkey of a man he will be, his hand against every man, and every man’s hand against him, living his life in defiance of all his kinsmen.
13 Hagar gave a name to Yahweh who had spoken to her, ‘You are El Roi,’ by which she meant, ‘Did I not go on seeing here, after him who sees me?’
14 This is why the well is called the well of Lahai Roi; it is between Kadesh and Bered.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Hebrews 9:15-28
15 This makes him the mediator of a new covenant, so that, now that a death has occurred to redeem the sins committed under an earlier covenant, those who have been called to an eternal inheritance may receive the promise.
16 Now wherever a will is in question, the death of the testator must be established;
17 a testament comes into effect only after a death, since it has no force while the testator is still alive.
18 That is why even the earlier covenant was inaugurated with blood,
19 and why, after Moses had promulgated all the commandments of the Law to the people, he took the calves’ blood, the goats’ blood and some water, and with these he sprinkled the book itself and all the people, using scarlet wool and hyssop;
20 saying as he did so: This is the blood of the covenant that God has made with you.
21 And he sprinkled both the tent and all the liturgical vessels with blood in the same way.
22 In fact, according to the Law, practically every purification takes place by means of blood; and if there is no shedding of blood, there is no remission.
23 Only the copies of heavenly things are purified in this way; the heavenly things themselves have to be purified by a higher sort of sacrifice than this.
24 It is not as though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary which was merely a model of the real one; he entered heaven itself, so that he now appears in the presence of God on our behalf.
25 And he does not have to offer himself again and again, as the high priest goes into the sanctuary year after year with the blood that is not his own,
26 or else he would have had to suffer over and over again since the world began. As it is, he has made his appearance once and for all, at the end of the last age, to do away with sin by sacrificing himself.
27 Since human beings die only once, after which comes judgement,
28 so Christ too, having offered himself only once to bear the sin of many, will manifest himself a second time, sin being no more, to those who are waiting for him, to bring them salvation.(New Jerusalem Bible)
John 5:19-29
19 To this Jesus replied: In all truth I tell you, by himself the Son can do nothing; he can do only what he sees the Father doing: and whatever the Father does the Son does too.
20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he himself does, and he will show him even greater things than these, works that will astonish you.
21 Thus, as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to anyone he chooses;
22 for the Father judges no one; he has entrusted all judgement to the Son,
23 so that all may honour the Son as they honour the Father. Whoever refuses honour to the Son refuses honour to the Father who sent him.
24 In all truth I tell you, whoever listens to my words, and believes in the one who sent me, has eternal life; without being brought to judgement such a person has passed from death to life.
25 In all truth I tell you, the hour is coming — indeed it is already here — when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and all who hear it will live.
26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself;
27 and, because he is the Son of man, has granted him power to give judgement.
28 Do not be surprised at this, for the hour is coming when the dead will leave their graves at the sound of his voice:
29 those who did good will come forth to life; and those who did evil will come forth to judgement.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Conversion of St. Paul:
Psalm 19
1 [For the choirmaster Psalm Of David] The heavens declare the glory of God, the vault of heaven proclaims his handiwork,
2 day discourses of it to day, night to night hands on the knowledge.
3 No utterance at all, no speech, not a sound to be heard,
4 but from the entire earth the design stands out, this message reaches the whole world. High above, he pitched a tent for the sun,
5 who comes forth from his pavilion like a bridegroom, delights like a champion in the course to be run.
6 Rising on the one horizon he runs his circuit to the other, and nothing can escape his heat.
7 The Law of Yahweh is perfect, refreshment to the soul; the decree of Yahweh is trustworthy, wisdom for the simple.
8 The precepts of Yahweh are honest, joy for the heart; the commandment of Yahweh is pure, light for the eyes.
9 The fear of Yahweh is pure, lasting for ever; the judgements of Yahweh are true, upright, every one,
10 more desirable than gold, even than the finest gold; his words are sweeter than honey, that drips from the comb.
11 Thus your servant is formed by them; observing them brings great reward.
12 But who can detect his own failings? Wash away my hidden faults.
13 And from pride preserve your servant, never let it be my master. So shall I be above reproach, free from grave sin.
14 May the words of my mouth always find favour, and the whispering of my heart, in your presence, Yahweh, my rock, my redeemer.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Isaiah 45:18-25
18 For thus says Yahweh, the Creator of the heavens — he is God, who shaped the earth and made it, who set it firm; he did not create it to be chaos, he formed it to be lived in: I am Yahweh, and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret, in some dark corner of the underworld. I did not say, ‘Offspring of Jacob, search for me in chaos!’ I am Yahweh: I proclaim saving justice, I say what is true.
20 Assemble, come, all of you gather round, survivors of the nations. They have no knowledge, those who parade their wooden idols and pray to a god that cannot save.
21 Speak up, present your case, let them put their heads together! Who foretold this in the past, who revealed it long ago? Was it not I, Yahweh? There is no other god except me, no saving God, no Saviour except me!
22 Turn to me and you will be saved, all you ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other.
23 By my own self I swear it; what comes from my mouth is saving justice, it is an irrevocable word: All shall bend the knee to me, by me every tongue shall swear,
24 saying, ‘In Yahweh alone are saving justice and strength,’ until all those who used to rage at him come to him in shame.
25 In Yahweh the whole race of Israel finds justice and glory.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Philppians 3:4b-11
4 although, I myself could rely on these too. If anyone does claim to rely on them, my claim is better.
5 Circumcised on the eighth day of my life, I was born of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrew parents. In the matter of the Law, I was a Pharisee;
6 as for religious fervour, I was a persecutor of the Church; as for the uprightness embodied in the Law, I was faultless.
7 But what were once my assets I now through Christ Jesus count as losses.
8 Yes, I will go further: because of the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, I count everything else as loss. For him I have accepted the loss of all other things, and look on them all as filth if only I can gain Christ
9 and be given a place in him, with the uprightness I have gained not from the Law, but through faith in Christ, an uprightness from God, based on faith,
10 that I may come to know him and the power of his resurrection, and partake of his sufferings by being moulded to the pattern of his death,
11 striving towards the goal of resurrection from the dead.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 119:89-112
89 For ever, Yahweh, your word is planted firm in heaven.
90 Your constancy endures from age to age; you established the earth and it stands firm.
91 Through your judgements all stands firm to this day, for all creation is your servant.
92 Had your Law not been my delight, I would have perished in my misery.
93 I shall never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.
94 I am yours, save me, for I seek your precepts.
95 The wicked may hope to destroy me, but all my thought is of your instructions.
96 I have seen that all perfection is finite, but your commandment has no limit.
97 How I love your Law! I ponder it all day long.
98 You make me wiser than my enemies by your commandment which is mine for ever.
99 I am wiser than all my teachers because I ponder your instructions.
100 I have more understanding than the aged because I keep your precepts.
101 I restrain my foot from evil paths to keep your word.
102 I do not turn aside from your judgements, because you yourself have instructed me.
103 How pleasant your promise to my palate, sweeter than honey in my mouth!
104 From your precepts I learn wisdom, so I hate all deceptive ways.
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
106 I have sworn — and shall maintain it — to keep your upright judgements.
107 I am utterly wretched, Yahweh; true to your promise, give me life.
108 Accept, Yahweh, the tribute from my mouth, and teach me your judgements.
109 My life is in your hands perpetually, I do not forget your Law.
110 The wicked have laid out a snare for me, but I have not strayed from your precepts.
111 Your instructions are my eternal heritage, they are the joy of my heart.
112 I devote myself to obeying your statutes, their recompense is eternal.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Ecclesiasticus 39:1-10
1 Not so with one who concentrates his mind and his meditation on the Law of the Most High. He researches into the wisdom of all the Ancients, he occupies his time with the prophecies.
2 He preserves the discourses of famous men, he is at home with the niceties of parables.
3 He researches into the hidden sense of proverbs, he ponders the obscurities of parables.
4 He enters the service of princes, he is seen in the presence of rulers. He travels in foreign countries, he has experienced human good and human evil.
5 At dawn and with all his heart he turns to the Lord his Creator; he pleads in the presence of the Most High, he opens his mouth in prayer and makes entreaty for his sins.
6 If such be the will of the great Lord, he will be filled with the spirit of intelligence, he will shower forth words of wisdom, and in prayer give thanks to the Lord.
7 He will grow upright in purpose and learning, he will ponder the Lord’s hidden mysteries.
8 He will display the instruction he has received, taking his pride in the Law of the Lord’s covenant.
9 Many will praise his intelligence and it will never be forgotten. His memory will not disappear, generation after generation his name will live.
10 Nations will proclaim his wisdom, the assembly will celebrate his praises.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Acts 9:1-22
1 Meanwhile Saul was still breathing threats to slaughter the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest
2 and asked for letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, that would authorise him to arrest and take to Jerusalem any followers of the Way, men or women, that he might find.
3 It happened that while he was travelling to Damascus and approaching the city, suddenly a light from heaven shone all round him.
4 He fell to the ground, and then he heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
5 ‘Who are you, Lord?’ he asked, and the answer came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
6 Get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’
7 The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless, for though they heard the voice they could see no one.
8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing at all, and they had to lead him into Damascus by the hand.
9 For three days he was without his sight and took neither food nor drink.
10 There was a disciple in Damascus called Ananias, and he had a vision in which the Lord said to him, ‘Ananias!’ When he replied, ‘Here I am, Lord,’
11 the Lord said, ‘Get up and go to Straight Street and ask at the house of Judas for someone called Saul, who comes from Tarsus. At this moment he is praying,
12 and has seen a man called Ananias coming in and laying hands on him to give him back his sight.’
13 But in response, Ananias said, ‘Lord, I have heard from many people about this man and all the harm he has been doing to your holy people in Jerusalem.
14 He has come here with a warrant from the chief priests to arrest everybody who invokes your name.’
15 The Lord replied, ‘Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel;
16 I myself will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’
17 Then Ananias went. He entered the house, and laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, I have been sent by the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’
18 It was as though scales fell away from his eyes and immediately he was able to see again. So he got up and was baptised,
19 and after taking some food he regained his strength. After he had spent only a few days with the disciples in Damascus,
20 he began preaching in the synagogues, ‘Jesus is the Son of God.’
21 All his hearers were amazed, and said, ‘Surely, this is the man who did such damage in Jerusalem to the people who invoke this name, and who came here for the sole purpose of arresting them to have them tried by the chief priests?’
22 Saul’s power increased steadily, and he was able to throw the Jewish colony at Damascus into complete confusion by the way he demonstrated that Jesus was the Christ.(New Jerusalem Bible)
2 Samuel 7:4-17
4 But that very night, the word of Yahweh came to Nathan:
5 ‘Go and tell my servant David, “Yahweh says this: Are you to build me a temple for me to live in?
6 I have never lived in a house from the day when I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until today, but have kept travelling with a tent for shelter.
7 In all my travels with all the Israelites, did I say to any of the judges of Israel, whom I had commanded to shepherd my people Israel: Why do you not build me a cedar-wood temple?”
8 This is what you must say to my servant David, “Yahweh Sabaoth says this: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader of my people Israel;
9 I have been with you wherever you went; I have got rid of all your enemies for you. I am going to make your fame as great as the fame of the greatest on earth.
10 I am going to provide a place for my people Israel; I shall plant them there, and there they will live and never be disturbed again; nor will they be oppressed by the wicked any more, as they were in former times
11 ever since the time when I instituted judges to govern my people Israel; and I shall grant you rest from all your enemies. Yahweh furthermore tells you that he will make you a dynasty.
12 And when your days are over and you fall asleep with your ancestors, I shall appoint your heir, your own son to succeed you (and I shall make his sovereignty secure.
13 He will build a temple for my name) and I shall make his royal throne secure for ever.
14 I shall be a father to him and he a son to me; if he does wrong, I shall punish him with a rod such as men use, with blows such as mankind gives.
15 But my faithful love will never be withdrawn from him as I withdrew it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
16 Your dynasty and your sovereignty will ever stand firm before me and your throne be for ever secure.” ‘
17 Nathan related all these words and this whole revelation to David.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 89:1-4
1 [Poem For Ethan the native-born] I shall sing the faithful love of Yahweh for ever, from age to age my lips shall declare your constancy,
2 for you have said: love is built to last for ever, you have fixed your constancy firm in the heavens.
3 ‘I have made a covenant with my Chosen One, sworn an oath to my servant David:
4 I have made your dynasty firm for ever, built your throne stable age after age.’Pause(New Jerusalem Bible)
Mark 4:1-20
1 Again he began to teach them by the lakeside, but such a huge crowd gathered round him that he got into a boat on the water and sat there. The whole crowd were at the lakeside on land.
2 He taught them many things in parables, and in the course of his teaching he said to them,
3 ‘Listen! Imagine a sower going out to sow.
4 Now it happened that, as he sowed, some of the seed fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
5 Some seed fell on rocky ground where it found little soil and at once sprang up, because there was no depth of earth;
6 and when the sun came up it was scorched and, not having any roots, it withered away.
7 Some seed fell into thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it produced no crop.
8 And some seeds fell into rich soil, grew tall and strong, and produced a good crop; the yield was thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold.’
9 And he said, ‘Anyone who has ears for listening should listen!’
10 When he was alone, the Twelve, together with the others who formed his company, asked what the parables meant.
11 He told them, ‘To you is granted the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside everything comes in parables,
12 so that they may look and look, but never perceive; listen and listen, but never understand; to avoid changing their ways and being healed.’
13 He said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?
14 What the sower is sowing is the word.
15 Those on the edge of the path where the word is sown are people who have no sooner heard it than Satan at once comes and carries away the word that was sown in them.
16 Similarly, those who are sown on patches of rock are people who, when first they hear the word, welcome it at once with joy.
17 But they have no root deep down and do not last; should some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, at once they fall away.
18 Then there are others who are sown in thorns. These have heard the word,
19 but the worries of the world, the lure of riches and all the other passions come in to choke the word, and so it produces nothing.
20 And there are those who have been sown in rich soil; they hear the word and accept it and yield a harvest, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’(New Jerusalem Bible)

Wednesday, 25 January 2012
The Conversion of Saint Paul, apostle – Feast
Feast of the Church:The Conversion of St Paul, apostle – Feast
Acts 22:3-16
3 ‘I am a Jew’, Paul said, ‘and was born at Tarsus in Cilicia. I was brought up here in this city. It was under Gamaliel that I studied and was taught the exact observance of the Law of our ancestors. In fact, I was as full of duty towards God as you all are today.
4 I even persecuted this Way to the death and sent women as well as men to prison in chains
5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify. I even received letters from them to the brothers in Damascus, which I took with me when I set off to bring prisoners back from there to Jerusalem for punishment.
6 ‘It happened that I was on that journey and nearly at Damascus when in the middle of the day a bright light from heaven suddenly shone round me.
7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
8 I answered, “Who are you, Lord?” and he said to me, “I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.”
9 The people with me saw the light but did not hear the voice which spoke to me.
10 I said, “What am I to do, Lord?” The Lord answered, “Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told what you have been appointed to do.”
11 Since the light had been so dazzling that I was blind, I got to Damascus only because my companions led me by the hand.
12 ‘Someone called Ananias, a devout follower of the Law and highly thought of by all the Jews living there,
13 came to see me; he stood beside me and said, “Brother Saul, receive your sight.” Instantly my sight came back and I was able to see him.
14 Then he said, “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Upright One and hear his own voice speaking,
15 because you are to be his witness before all humanity, testifying to what you have seen and heard.
16 And now why delay? Hurry and be baptised and wash away your sins, calling on his name.”(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 117
1 Alleluia! Praise Yahweh, all nations, extol him, all peoples,
2 for his faithful love is strong and his constancy never-ending.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Mark 16:15-18
15 And he said to them, ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the gospel to all creation.
16 Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.
17 These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues;
18 they will pick up snakes in their hands and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
Commentary of the day:
Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe (467-532), Bishop in North Africa
A sermon attributed to, no. 59 Appendix ; PL 65, 929
«On his journey, as Paul was nearing Damascus, alight from the sky suddenly flashed around him» (Acts 9,3)
Saul was sent on the road to Damascus to become blind since, if he was blinded, it was to see the real Way (Jn 14,6)… He lost his bodily sight but his heart was enlightened so that the true light might shine in the eyes of both his heart and his body… He was sent into his own interior to seek himself… He was straying in his own company, an unthinking traveller, and he did not find himself because, interiorly, he had lost his way.
Therefore he heard a voice saying to him…: «Turn aside from the way of Saul to find the faith of Paul. Take off the tunic of your blindness and clothe yourself with the Savior (cf. Gal 3,27)… In your flesh I have wanted to manifest the blindness of your heart that you might see what you did not see and might not be like those who «have eyes but see not and ears and hear not» (Ps 115[113],5-6). Let Saul return with his futile letters (Acts 22,5) that Paul might write his most necessary letters. Let the blind Saul vanish… that Paul might become the light of believers»…
Paul, who has transformed you in this way? «Would you like to know who has done this? The man people call Christ… He anointed my eyes and said to me: ‘Go to the pool of Siloam, wash and you will see.’ I went; I washed, and now I see (Jn 9,11). Why this surprise? Behold, he who created me has re-created me and with the same power with which he created me he has now healed me. I had sinned but he has cleansed me.»
Come along, then, Paul; leave old Saul behind; soon you will see Peter, too… Ananias, touch Saul and give us Paul; dismiss the persecutor far away from us, send out the preacher on his mission. The lambs will no longer be afraid, Christ’s sheep will be full of joy. O touch the wolf who used to pursue Christ so that now, with Peter, he may lead the sheep to pasture.

1st Thought for Today:
My Utmost for His Highest
Reading for Wednesday 25th January 2012
LEAVE ROOM FOR GOD by Oswald Chambers
But when it pleased God. . .(Galatians 1:15)
As workers for God we have to learn to make room for God – to give God “elbow room.” We calculate and estimate, and say that this and that will happen, and we forget to make room for God to come in as He chooses. Would we be surprised if God came into our meeting or into our preaching in a way we had never looked for Him to come? Do not look for God to come in any particular way, but look for Him. That is the way to make room for Him. Expect Him to come, but do not expect Him only in a certain way. However much we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that at any minute He may break in. We are apt to over look this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way. All of a sudden God meets the life – “When it was the good pleasure of God. . .”
Keep your life so constant in its contact with God that His surprising power may break out on the right hand and on the left. Always be in a state of expectancy, and see that you leave room for God to come in as He likes.

Reflecting God-A God Who Listens
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Scripture-Psalm 55:1-11
1 [For the choirmaster For strings Poem Of David] God, hear my prayer, do not hide away from my plea,
2 give me a hearing, answer me, my troubles give me no peace. I shudder
3 at the enemy’s shouts, at the outcry of the wicked; they heap up charges against me, in their anger bring hostile accusations against me.
4 My heart writhes within me, the terrors of death come upon me,
5 fear and trembling overwhelm me, and shuddering grips me.
6 And I say, ‘Who will give me wings like a dove, to fly away and find rest?’
7 How far I would escape, and make a nest in the desert!Pause
8 I would soon find a refuge from the storm of abuse, from the
9 destructive tempest, Lord, from the flood of their tongues. For I see violence and strife in the city,
10 day and night they make their rounds along the city walls, Inside live malice and mischief,
11 inside lives destruction, tyranny and treachery never absent from its central square.(New Jerusalem Bible)
A God Who Listens by Gerald Crispin
Betrayals, disloyalty, acts of violence and injustice have been faced by many people. King David faced these things. Much of this mistreatment came from David’s own family and his circle of former allies and supporters. This left him with a heart that was fearful, overwhelmed, and heavy. You can hear David’s agony throughout the psalm. David pleads, “Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me”(verses 1-2). Can you hear David’s deep groaning and loudly uttered cries echoing throughout the palace?
Maybe your own voice has uttered similar groans and cries when you have been mistreated, especially by someone close to you. David’s regard for God did not leave him faithless. He knew who to call upon. God was his constant companion and friend. In the “Amplified Bible,” David asks God to deal with his enemies, to “destroy [their schemes] . . .confuse their tongues”(verse 9).
If we regard God in our daily routines, stay close to him, and hide ourselves to his presence, the Lord will not ignore our pleas. He will hear and answer us when we call upon him in faith.
Hymn for Today:
“Pass Me Not” by Fanny J. Crosby
1. Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
hear my humble cry;
while on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by.
Refrain:
Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry;
while on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by.
2. Let me at thy throne of mercy
find a sweet relief,
kneeling there in deep contrition;
help my unbelief.
Refrain:
Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry;
while on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by.
3. Trusting only in thy merit,
would I seek thy face;
heal my wounded, broken spirit,
save me by thy grace.
Refrain:
Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry;
while on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by.
4. Thou the spring of all my comfort,
more than life to me,
whom have I on earth beside thee?
Whom in heaven but thee?
Refrain:
Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry;
while on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by.
2nd Thought for Today:
“[T}he broken and contrite heart captures the immediate attention of God. It always has; it always will”(Neil B. Wiseman).
Prayer Needs:
Faculty and students as they prepare for full-time Christian ministry in Switzerland.

The Upper Room Daily Devotional
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
God’s Plans
Suggested Bible Reading:
Read Jeremiah 29:10-14
10 For Yahweh says this: When the seventy years granted to Babylon are over, I shall intervene on your behalf and fulfil my favourable promise to you by bringing you back to this place.
11 Yes, I know what plans I have in mind for you, Yahweh declares, plans for peace, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
12 When you call to me and come and pray to me, I shall listen to you.
13 When you search for me, you will find me; when you search wholeheartedly for me,
14 I shall let you find me (Yahweh declares. I shall restore your fortunes and gather you in from all the nations and wherever I have driven you, Yahweh declares. I shall bring you back to the place from which I exiled you).(New Jerusalem Bible)
Today’s Scripture:
“ I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”(Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV))
Today’s Devotional
When I divorced, I wondered if I had wrecked my life. Not only had I disappointed my family, but I am a pastor. I am supposed to set an example for Christian living. How could people take me seriously as a spiritual leader? How could I preach about marriage or covenant when my marriage had failed?
But Jeremiah 29:11 promises that God has good plans for us. A curious detail in that verse has caught my attention. The scripture doesn’t say “plan”; it says “plans.” The word is plural. God has more than one plan. Perhaps God has a Plan A for us; but if we mess that up, God also has a Plan B. And if Plan B doesn’t work out, God has a Plan C. And so on.
I doubt that many of us are living Plan A. And people like me may be rapidly approaching the end of the alphabet. Many people feel they have made so many mistakes that if God ever had a plan for them, it must be spoiled. But God does not give up on us. God has more than one way to give us hope and a future. Not only does God have more than one plan; God is at work to fulfill those plans. by Michael Raypholtz (Ohio, USA)
3rd Thought for the Day: Our mistakes and sin cannot overrule God’s desire for our good.
Prayer: Dear God, we give thanks that you do not give up on us. Show us the path you put before us daily, and give us the strength to walk it. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Those experiencing divorce
The scripture quotation, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2012 by The Upper Room, a ministry of GBOD. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or redistribute without written permission from the publisher.

Daily Meditation: Wisdom — Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul — January 25, 2012
Center for Action and Contemplation
WISDOM
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul
“We have a wisdom to offer to those who have reached maturity . . . a hidden wisdom that the masters of this age did not know, or they would never have crucified!” from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2:6-8
In classical spiritual biographies and autobiographies, the seeker usually moves through several stages, today referred to as levels of consciousness. The seeker travels from simple consciousness (“the child”), to complex consciousness (most of the middle of life), and, hopefully, to enlightened consciousness, which looks surprisingly simple again! Is that the real meaning of “second childhood”? Such enlightenment is, of course, the goal.
The first simplicity and the second simplicity are, however, completely different. The first simplicity is naïve, dualistic, and far too sure of itself. This is what Paul regrets about his early zeal and righteousness, which led him to kill Christians. In our early years, we largely “split” for the sake of quick and false success—we split the natural from the spiritual, the light from the shadow, the weeds from the wheat, the friend from the enemy. But when we come to enlightened consciousness, which is the second simplicity, we have learned to include, accept, and forgive the negatives, the problems, and the contradictions that were revealed in the middle of life to be much more complex than we first imagined.
As Paul says above, we learn to stop “crucifying”—ourselves and others, which is precisely “resurrection”! Adapted from On the Threshold of Transformation:
Daily Meditations for Men, p. 32
Starter Prayer:
Grant me wisdom. by Father Richard Rohr

4th Thought for Today:
Wednesday January 25, 2012
Receiving Forgiveness
There are two sides to forgiveness: giving and receiving. Although at first sight giving seems to be harder, it often appears that we are not able to offer forgiveness to others because we have not been able fully to receive it. Only as people who have accepted forgiveness can we find the inner freedom to give it. Why is receiving forgiveness so difficult? It is very hard to say, “Without your forgiveness I am still bound to what happened between us. Only you can set me free.” That requires not only a confession that we have hurt somebody but also the humility to acknowledge our dependency on others. Only when we can receive forgiveness can we give it. by Father Henri J. M. Nouwen

1.25.12 – No longer in the dark from The Church of the Resurrection-United Methodist in Leawood, Kansas, United States
Daily Scripture: Ephesians 4:17 “So this I say to you and attest to you in the Lord, do not go on living the empty-headed life that the gentiles live.
18 Intellectually they are in the dark, and they are estranged from the life of God, because of the ignorance which is the consequence of closed minds.
19 Their sense of right and wrong once dulled, they have abandoned all self-control and pursue to excess every kind of uncleanness.
20 Now that is hardly the way you have learnt Christ,
21 unless you failed to hear him properly when you were taught what the truth is in Jesus.
22 You were to put aside your old self, which belongs to your old way of life and is corrupted by following illusory desires.
23 Your mind was to be renewed in spirit
24 so that you could put on the New Man that has been created on God’s principles, in the uprightness and holiness of the truth.”(New Jerusalem Bible)
Reflection Questions:
Much of the time, our culture’s films, novels or music videos see sex with no constraints as a source and result of a higher, free awareness. Ephesians looked at things quite differently. Unrestrained sensuality, it said, darkens human understanding and destroys sensitivity. The new mind-set God offers us is not meant to squelch joy in life, but to make it truly possible.
Last week we read Galatians 5:22: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience….” When you read about God creating “true holiness” in your life, do you picture that “holiness” bringing you more of traits like love and joy? Do you see “holiness” more as 1) telling you not to enjoy life too much, or 2) the truest source of love and joy?
To these Gentile converts to Christianity, Ephesians strongly stressed the contrast between the “old” and the “new.” What meaning, if any, can this passage have for people who have been Christians all their life? In what ways did you have an “old” way of life to leave in order to find the “new” in Christ?
Weekly Prayer:
Lord God, “a man embraces his wife, and they become one flesh”? Wow—Genesis said the first human couple were really strongly attracted to each other! Sometimes I have that sense, too, but so many things (grief, illness, betrayal, unresolved childhood hurts, even just human brokenness in one or both partners) can go wrong. This week, teach me about the joy, bonding and sharing of life that “good sex,” sex as you intend it to be, can bring to our lives. Amen.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

4th Thought for Today:
Wednesday 25 January 2012
What Do We Want?
The important thing is to keep the eyes on what we want to grow into. Do we want to grow toward greater community, greater openness, greater compassion, greater listening? Or do we want to just be a tree that’s more powerful so that I’m the biggest tree and all the other little trees are stupid? It’s all about this question of growth. by Jean Vanier
Belonging: The Search for Acceptance
Windborne Production Video

5th Thought for Today:
Pat
I enlisted Patrick as my partner in crime. Ethel told me that I could not try out her new electric lazy boy chair because I was too fat; she said that I would break it. With Ethel being out for supper, Pat was to warn me if she came home so I could get out of her chair without causing a third world war. I wasn’t even in the room when Ethel came home. When she did, Pat was quick to tell her, “Murray–ch–ch–ch–chair!” Pat is a rat; he can’t keep a secret.
Pat also can’t keep a secret about how he cares about me. At times he will engage me in conversation and at certain moments he will reach out his left hand to shake mine in a gesture of friendship and solidarity. He will ask me about work and he will ask about my car. Pat calls me to own, name and claim all the stuff that makes up my life. He calls me to reach out to Jesus for redemption and liberation as I continue to find in my L’Arche home a place for my heart. by Father Murray McDermott C.R., L’Arche Stratford

Sermon for Today:
The Reason Why Many Cannot Find Peace by Charles H. Spurgeon
NO. 1408 DELIVERED ON LORD’S-DAY MORNING, APRIL 7, 1878, BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON
““Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God,
and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep! Let your laughterbe turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.”(James 4:7-10)
We frequently meet with persons who tell us that they cannot find peace with God. They have been bidden to believe in the Lord Jesus, but they misunderstand the command and, while they think they are obeying it, they are really unbelievers and, therefore, they miss the way of peace. They attempt to pray, but their petitions are not answered and their supplications yield them no comfort whatever, for neither their faith nor their prayer is accepted of the Lord. Such persons are described by James in the 3rd verse of the chapter now open before us—“You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss.” We cannot be content to see seekers in this wretchedness and, therefore, we endeavor to comfort them, instructing them, again and again, in the great Gospel precept, “Believe and live.” Yet as a rule they get no further, but linger in an unsatisfactory condition. They assure us that they believe in Jesus, but we see none of the fruits of faith in them, neither can they, themselves, say that they derive any spiritual benefit from the faith which they profess. Now I fear that comfort is misplaced in these cases. When we have endeavored to cheer such people, I fear we may have been filming over a wound which needs a sharp knife rather than a soft bandage—a keen lancet rather than a healing liniment. We shall try at this time to show certain uneasy souls why they do not obtain peace and what they must be brought to by the Holy Spirit before they can rightly claim that they are saved. Though our words may be somewhat caustic, they will be uttered in loving faithfulness and may the Lord our God make them effectual to the ending of the inner strife and the establishment of settled peace. I fear that many who profess to be Christians are in a very questionable conditionthey have no joy of their faith and no success in their prayers. Whether they are Christians or not is a moot point and the practical James does not waste time in discussing the doubtful question, but speaks to them from both sides of their apparent condition.
In his previous chapters he calls them, “my brethren,” and even, “my beloved brethren.” He draws no line of demarcation when he, afterwards, addresses them as, “sinners,” whose hands must be cleansed and, as, “double-minded” persons, whose hearts must be purified. They were both of these—they were professedly Brothers and Sisters, but they were at heart unchaste to Christ—they indulged in grievous sins of contention and malice—and their hearts were divided between the love of sin and the hope of salvation. We will not, therefore, raise personal questions, or try to discriminate where certainty is hard to reach, but we will speak to suspicious characters without determining whether they are truly Believers or not. If such persons claim to be called Brothers and Sisters, we will address them as such, but it will be in a sentence like this, “My Brothers and Sisters, such things ought not to be.” On the other hand, we will use no condemnatory title, but leave the question between God and each man’s own conscience. We will go to the root of the matter and set forth the reason for the lack of peace and salvation of which some complain. May the sacred Spirit help us to point out the fatal failure which keeps the soul from rest. If any man is not sure that he is in Christ, he ought not to be easy one moment more until he is so.
Dear Friend, without the fullest confidence as to your saved condition, you have no right to be at ease and I pray you may never be so! This is a matter too important to be left undecided. Instantly should every man of prudence make assurance doubly sure and bind all things fast that he may find them fast for eternity—for eternity I say—for thus says the Lord. Never risk your souls, for your souls are yourselves, your real selves and nothing can make up for their loss. If you lose your souls, it will be no recompense to have gained the whole world! Be careful, then! Leave nothing insecure. Carefully measure and weigh every important step. Consider and examine, lest being so near to the kingdom, any of you should seem to come short of it.
To help you to a settled peace, let me, first of all, urge upon you to obey the comprehensive command of our text—“Submit yourselves therefore to God.” And then, secondly, let me further press upon you to practice the other precepts which follow, such as, “Resist the devil.” “Draw near to God.” “Cleanse your hands.” “Purify your hearts.” “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep.” And, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord.”
I. First listen to THE COMPREHENSIVE COMMAND—“Submit yourselves therefore to God.” According to the connection, the lighting spirit within many men shows that they have not submitted themselves to God—lusting, envy, strife, contention, jealousy, anger—all these things declare that the heart is not submissive but remains violently self-willed and rebellious. Those who are still wrathful, proud, contentious and selfish are evidently unsubdued. There are some men to whom the very idea of submission is distasteful—they will be subjective to no one, but wish to be their own gods and a law unto themselves. “Submit” is a galling word to them. They say in their hearts, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?”
They are willing, enough, to accept His favors, willing enough, after their fashion, to say, “Thank God,” but as to submission, they will have none of it—it suits not their high mightiness! They strive for the mastery. They push for the front place, aiming to advance their own interests and make the great I to be lord above all. The Apostle quietly indicates in the words of our text that many Christian professors need to submit, for at present their unhumbled nature leads them to lusting and striving—and effectually prevents their asking so as to receive at the Lord’s hands. A lack of submission is no new or rare fault in mankind. Ever since the Fall it has been the root of all sin. When the heart submits to God in sincerity, the work of Grace is begun. And when it submits perfectly, the work is complete. But for this, Divine Grace must display its power, for the heart is obstinate and rebellious.
From the moment when our mother Eve stretched out her hand to pluck the forbidden fruit and her husband joined her in setting up the human will against the Divine, the sons of men have universally been guilty of a lack of conformity to the will of God. They choose their own way and will not submit their wills. They think their own thoughts and will not submit their understanding. They love earthly things and will not submit their affections. Man wants to be his own law and his own master. This is abominable, since we are not our own makers, for, “it is He that has made us and not we ourselves.”
The Lord should have supremacy over us, for our existence depends on His will. I have heard much of the rights of man, but it were well also to consider the rights of God, which are the first, highest, surest and most solemn rights in the universe and lie at the base of all other rights! The Lord has an absolute right to the beings whom He has fashioned and it is shameful that the great mass of men seem never even to remember that He exists, much less to ask themselves what is due to Him. Alas, great God, how are You a stranger even in the world which You have, Yourself, made! Your creatures, who could not see if You had not given them eyes, look everywhere except to You. Creatures who could not think if You had not given them minds, think of all things except You! And beings who could not live if You did not keep them in being, forget You utterly, or, if they remember Your existence and see Your power, are foolhardy enough to become Your foes!
The hemlock of sin grows in the furrows of opposition to God. When the Lord is pleased to turn the hearts of opposers to the obedience of His Truth, it is an evident token of salvation. In fact, it is the dawn of salvation itself! To submit to God is to find rest! The rule of God is so beneficial that He ought readily to be obeyed. He never commands us to do that which, in the long run, can be injurious to us, nor does He forbid us anything which can be to our real advantage. Our God is so kind, so wise, so full of loving forethought, that it is always be to our best interest to follow His lead. Even if we could be left to choose our own way and were under no bonds of duty, it would be wise and prudent to choose the way of the Lord, for it is the path of pleasantness and safety.
Beloved, the Lord is far too great to have any need to deal unjustly, or unkindly with His creatures. Indeed, He is so great that He cannot desire any personal advantage from His government, but He condescends to govern us because without His rule and guidance we would be utterly undone. It is for our good that like a father in a family He commands us this or forbids us the other. It is wanton cruelty to ourselves when we break away from the liberty with which Jesus makes us free, to place ourselves under the tyranny of selfishness and the baser passions of the mind. It is madness to forsake the honorable service of the great King to become the slave of Satan. O that men would submit themselves unto God and be willing to be blessed!
All resistance against God is, from the necessity of the case, be futile. Common sense teaches that rebellion against Omnipotence is both insanity and blasphemy. The Lord’s purpose must stand and His pleasure must be done! His power will assuredly crush all opposition and it is idle to raise it. Why, then, should a man contend against his Master? Wisdom as well as righteousness call upon him to submit to God. And then let it always be known that submission to God is absolutely necessary to salvation. A man is not saved until he bows before the supreme majesty of God. He may say, “I believe in Jesus,” but if he goes on to follow out his own desires and to gratify his own passions, he is a mere pretender, a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Dead faith will save no man! It is not even as good as the faith of devils, for they “believe and tremble,” and these men believe in a fashion which makes them brazen in their iniquity. No, salvation means being saved from the domination of self and sin! Salvation means being made to long after likeness to God, being helped by Divine Grace to reach to that likeness and living after the mind and will of the Most High. Submission to God is the salvation which we preach, not a mere deliverance from eternal burning, but deliverance from present rebellion, deliverance from the sin which is the fuel of those unquenchable flames. There must be conformity to the eternal Laws of the universe and according to these God must be first and man must bow to Him—nothing can be right till this is done. Submit is a command which in every case must be obeyed—or no peace or salvation will be found. Now, it is generally, in this matter of submission, that the stumbling block lies in the way of souls when seeking peace with God. It keeps them unsaved and, as I have already said, necessarily so, because a man who is not submissive to God is not saved. He is not saved from rebellion. He is not saved from pride. He is still evidently an unsaved man, no matter what he may think of himself. Perhaps by a few personal remarks I may hit upon the reason why certain of my hearers cannot get the peace which the Gospel so freely sets before them. There is a lack of submission in some point or other. In the saved man there is and must be a full and unconditional submission to the Law of God. He must consent unto the Law that it is good.
If your mind has up to now quibbled against the Law, you must end the fight, for it is impossible that you should be right while you quarrel with the Law of Righteousness! If you set yourself up to be a judge of the Law, you judge the Lawgiver Himself, and what is this but the blackest presumption? Traced to its real meaning, the thought of judging the Law is treason and would dethrone God and reign in His place! How sad to see a sinful mortal criticizing the perfect Law of his Maker! Dare you do this? If you say in your heart, “He is too strict in marking sin and too severe in punishing it,” what is this but condemning your Judge? If you say, “He calls me to account for idle words and even for sins of ignorance and this is hard,” what is this but to call your Lord unjust?
Should the Law be amended to suit your desires? Should its requirements be accommodated to ease your indolence? If you ask for this you are not saved, for a saved person delights in the Law of God after the inward man. He says of it, “the Law is holy,” though he weeps as he adds, “but I am carnal, sold under sin.” He honors the Law as he bows before it and confesses his shortcomings. Yes, and before a man can have peace with God he must submit himself to the sentence of the Law. Though that Law in its severity searches the thoughts and tries the heart, arraigns us before the bar of God and pronounces sentence upon us, we must acknowledge it to be just!
Grace working in the heart brings the penitent to plead guilty to the sin and to admit that the penalty is deserved. In my own case I unreservedly acknowledge that when the Law in my conscience condemned me to Hell, I dared not lift a finger nor even think a thought by way of disputing the sentence. The conscience is not Divinely quickened, nor the soul renewed, nor the man saved, unless he cries, “I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is always before me. Against
You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight, that You might be justified when You speak and be clear when You judge.”
You must submit yourselves to the righteousness and severity of God or He will resist you as He does all the proud. There can be no pardon for a man unless he will honor the Law by hearty submission. If your plea is, “not guilty,” you will be committed for trial according to justice—and then you cannot be forgiven by mercy! You are in a hopeless position! God Himself cannot meet you upon that ground, for He cannot admit that the Law is unrighteous and its penalty too severe. The Lord cannot be at peace with you while you defy His Law! He declares that you are guilty and you dispute this declaration, therefore between you and Himself there is a quarrel which never can be ended till you admit your error and beg for pardon.
He can deal with you in mercy when you once stand where mercy can meet with you, namely, in the sinner’s place. But if you say “I am not guilty,” and begin to vindicate or excuse yourself, you are on a ground which the Lord cannot recognize. If you are professedly righteous, how can the Lord deal with you except in justice? And if He deals with you in justice He will readily enough summon His witnesses and prove you guilty and condemn you to Hell. Submit, then, unto God, and say, “Guilty, Lord. I throw down the weapons of my rebellion and acknowledge that I stand condemned before You. And if I am saved at all it must be by Your free forgiveness, by Your unmerited mercy, by Your boundless love.” A man must next submit himself to the plan of salvation by Grace alone. God meets the sinner on the footing of Grace. “I cannot exonerate you,” He seems to say, “but I can forgive you. I cannot tolerate your denial of guilt, but if you confess your sin, I am faithful and just to forgive you your sin and to save you from all unrighteousness.” Now, are you willing, my dear Hearer—are you sure that you are willing to be saved by Grace, alone, and to owe your deliverance from sin and its punishment entirely to the free favor of God? Will you yield to that? I trust you will.
But there are some who will not, for they go about to establish their own righteousness and do not submit themselves to the righteousness of God. They think that so much Chapel-going, Church-going, sermon-hearing, Prayer Meeting-attending, Bible reading and so on, will certainly work up something like a claim upon God! O, Sirs, have done with claims! If you come with anything like a claim, the Lord will not touch the case at all, for you have no claim and the pretense of one would be an insult to God! If you fancy you have demands upon God, go into the court of Justice and plead them, but the sentence is certain to be against you, for by the deeds of the Law no flesh can be justified.
Try the other way! Come to God with no claim and appeal to His pity, saying, “Lord, I cry for mercy. Gladly will I accept Your free Grace if You will but give it to me.” You will be accepted on that footing, for the Lord is gracious and casts out none who come to Him confessing their sins. You must also submit yourselves to God’s way of saving you through an atoning Sacrifice and by means of your personal faith in that Sacrifice. You must receive His Son as Divine and you must believe in that atoning blood which was shed for many for the remission of sins. Surely there should be no difficulty about surrendering the mind to this! Salvation by the great Mediator is such a delightful way of salvation, so just to God, so safe to man, that we ought to clap our hands for very joy to think that such a royal road to Heaven is opened for us!
What do you say, dear Hearers? Does the Holy Spirit incline you to trust in the blood of Jesus? And then there must be a full submission to God in the matter of giving up every sin. Numbers of persons pray for mercy, but they continue in their sins. Such men cannot be saved because salvation is salvation from sin—not in sin. How can we be saved from sin if we are its slaves? If you come to God and cry, “Lord, deliver me and have mercy upon me,” and yet you practice private drinking and tipple yourselves into semi-drunkenness, how can you be saved? If you keep on cheating in business, or telling lies, or indulge a malicious or angry temper in the family, or are proud and unkind, selfish and miserly, how can you be saved?
I warn you, Friends, that faith itself cannot save you while these things are so, for if your faith were a saving faith it would rescue you from these evils! This, indeed, is salvation, namely, deliverance from the power and habit of sin! Many prayers are semi-hypocritical—there is a kind of sincerity about them, but there is no whole-hearted desire after holiness and, therefore, they will never gain a comfortable answer from God. O Seeker, are you willing to give up every sin? Come, drunkard, you pray to be forgiven, but are you willing to leave the intoxicating cup once and for all? You, my Friend, ask to be pardoned—it is well, but are you, at the same time, desirous to cease from your transgressions? Yes or no? Are you anxious to search out every false way and abandon it as soon as it is discovered? Do you wish to have a holy, truthful, godly tongue? Do you long to be saved from every lust and secret vice? If so, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are already saved! Your sigh to be delivered from evil is the commencement of the work of sanctification! But if you say, “I would be saved from every wrong way except my one indulgence, my one secret iniquity,” then you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity! Your prayers will come back to your bosom unanswered and your pretended faith in Christ will condemn you! Your fancied faith cannot save you, seeing you love your sin.
A certain man has been accustomed to eat of a certain dish which is bad for his health and when he calls in a physician, their talk is after this fashion—“If you trust me,” says the doctor, “I can cure you.” “Yes,” replies the patient, “I do trust you heartily.” The doctor proceeds, “That dainty of yours must be given up, for it is the cause of your disease and so long as you eat it, you must suffer the consequence.” “Well, doctor,” he says, “I trust you, but I cannot give up my favorite food.” Is it not apparent to everybody that he does not trust the physician at all? Even so, when a man declares, “I trust in Christ to save me from sin,” and then continues in his wickedness, he mocks the Good Physician and is in danger of sudden destruction! Either you must cast sin out of your heart or it will keep you out of Heaven! This point must be insisted on—receiving Christ is impossible without, at the same time, renouncing sin! If we would be saved there must be submission to the Lord as to all His teachings. A very necessary point in this age, for a multitude of persons who appear to be religious, judge the Scriptures instead of allowing the Scriptures to judge them.
Hear, O you wise men, “Except you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.” Submission to the Infallible authority of the Inspired Word is absolutely required of every disciple of Jesus, but this age delights in the opposite spirit!
Even some of those who call themselves ministers of the Gospel persistently indulge a spirit which is precisely the reverse of the childlike faith which saves the soul. They industriously endeavor to excite rebellion against the teachings of Christ and cry it up under the name of, “honest doubt.” They do not wish men to believe, but to think—and their Gospel, practically, is—“Doubt, and do not be baptized, and you shall be saved.” Shame on them! Our Gospel is, “He that believes and is baptized, shall be saved!” And we are content to teach what Jesus Christ, our Lord, told His disciples to preach to all nations!
If I will never yield my reason. If I will never believe what I cannot understand. If I will carry an open knife about with me to cut and hack at texts of Scripture. If I will not sit at Jesus’ feet with Mary, but want Him to sit at my feet that I may tell Him what His religion ought to be and what He ought to have said, how can I be saved? If, after all, we are personally infallible and are to spend all our days in selecting our opinions, how can we know Christ? If instead of yielding my judgment to the plain teachings of my Lord, I revise His doctrines, how can I be saved? If I have not submitted my intellect to God, what peace can there be? Mark this well, you wise young men who know so much more than your fathers and are too intellectual to reverence your fathers’ God!
And, now, I must ask another question of you who desire peace and cannot find it. Have you submitted yourselves to the Providential arrangements of God? I know persons who often sit in this House of Prayer who have a quarrel with God. He took away a beloved object and they not only thought Him unkind and cruel at the time, but they still think so!
Like a child in a fit of the sulks, they cast an evil eye upon the great Father! They are not at peace and never will be till they have acknowledged the Lord’s supremacy and ceased from their rebellious thoughts. If they were in a right state of heart they would thank the Lord for their sharp trials and consent to His will as being assuredly right. I fear that unsubmission on this point affects a great number of persons. They cannot succeed in business and, therefore, they are out of temper with God. He knows very well that they are not fit to be made rich and could not be trusted with a large business and, therefore, He does not grant their suicidal desires. Some men would never win the race of life if they had an ounce of gold to carry! The only hope for their running at all lies in keeping them unencumbered. We know, also, thoughtful young men who cannot pursue their studies because of failing health. They want to be famous, but they are not strong enough to continue their work for the examination and so they are vexed with the Lord. Or, it may be they have less talent than ambition and they rebel because their Maker has not given them intellects as capacious as that of Solomon. Let them be satisfied to use the talent they have and cease from contending with their Creator!
Many men have a sort of private resentment with Providence and sit down like Jonah under their withered gourd and mutter, “We do well to be angry even unto death.” Now, if such is the case with any before me, I would say to them—leave off quarrelling with your God! What can be the use of it? The very best and wisest thing for you is to make friends with Him and let His will be your will. After all, He deals well with you, if you would but see it. Depend upon it, there is something to be made out of the position you occupy—gain will come to you out of all those losses—profit will arise even from those sad bereavements if you will stand still and see the salvation of God. Acquaint yourselves with God and be at peace, for thereby good shall come unto you—for unless you do this you may say, “I believe,” but you have no faith in God!
How can a man believe in God when he charges God with treating him wrongly? Faith begets resignation and submission—where there is strife and enmity—unbelief is still supreme. Until you submit yourselves to God it cannot be well with your souls, for He resists the proud but gives Grace to the humble. This is the long and the short of it—you must, as a guilty sinner, cast yourself at God’s feet and say, “Have mercy upon me, O Lord, and have mercy upon me in Your own way. I dictate not to You, but I implore Your Grace! I humbly beg forgiveness. Be pleased to pity me. I yield up myself to You, asking You to make me holy. I do from my very heart give up the love of sin. I fear I shall sin, help me to loathe myself when I do so! Make me what You will have me to be and then deal as You will with me. I make no terms nor conditions. Mine is an unconditional surrender. Only for Your mercy’s sake renew me. Make me Your child and save me. As You bid me trust Your Son, I trust Him. Lord, I believe! Help you my unbelief.”
You will have peace when your heart is brought to this point. At present your wound does not heal because it needs washing, for the grit of pride has fallen into it and is causing a wretched irritation. When pride is gone and you are fully submissive, then shall the wound heal and your broken bones shall rejoice! I am not asking you to submit to a priest! I am not asking you to submit to a mere man! But I speak very earnestly when I say, “Submit yourselves to God”—it is natural, it is right—it is good in itself and filled with the highest good to you. Submission is essential to salvation, therefore bow before the Lord at once! May the Lord bend that stubborn will and conquer that wayward heart. Yield yourselves to God and pray to be delivered from future rebellion. If you have submitted, do so yet more completely, for so shall you be known to be Christians when you submit yourselves to God. If you will not submit, your faith is a lie, your hope is a delusion, your prayer is an insult, your peace is presumption and your end will be despair! Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. “But God shall wound the head of His enemies and the hairy scalp of such an one as goes on still in his trespasses.”
II. But now, secondly, having thus spoken upon the great duty of submission, let us consider the other and FOLLOWING PRECEPTS.
I think I am not suspicious without reason when I express a fear that the preaching which has latey been very common and, in some respects very useful, of, “only believe and you shall be saved,” has sometimes been altogether mistaken by those who have heard it. Cases occur in which young persons go on living light, frivolous, giddy, and even wicked lives—and yet they claim that they believe in Jesus Christ. When you come to examine them a little, you find that their belief in Christ means that they believe that He has saved them, although everybody who knows their character can clearly see that they are not saved at all!
Now, what is their faith but the belief of a lie? They are living just as they did live and, therefore, it is clear that they are not saved from their former foolish conversation, nor from their bad tempers, nor from their old sins. And yet they try to persuade themselves that they are saved! Now, true faith never believes lies! Presumption lives upon lies, but faith will only feed on the Truth of God! My faith does not teach me to believe I am saved when straight before my very eyes I have the evidence that I am not saved, since I am living in the very sin I pretend to be saved from! Though we would not, for a moment, cast a doubt upon the doctrine of Justification by Faith and Free Salvation, we must also preach more and more that parallel Truth of God—“You must be born again.”
We must bring to the front the grand old word which has been thrown into the background by some evangelists, namely, “Repent.” Repentance is as essential to salvation as faith. Indeed, there is no faith without repentance except the faith which needs to be repented of. A dry-eyed faith will never see the kingdom of God! A holy loathing for sin always attends upon a childlike faith in the Sin-Bearer. Where the root Grace of faith is found, other Graces will grow from it. Now notice how the Spirit of God, after having bidden us submit, goes on to show what else is to be done. He calls for a brave resistance of the devil. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
The business of salvation is not all passive—the soul must be awakened to active warfare! I am to fall into the arms of Christ, that He may save me—I must trust Him completely. And when I depend upon Him I receive life—and the very first effort of that life is to strike with all its might the adversary of Christ and of my own soul. I am not only to contend with sin, but with the spirit which foments and suggests sin! I am to resist the secret spirit of evil as well as its outward “But oh,” says one, “I cannot give up an inveterate habit.” Sir, you must give it up! You must resist the devil or perish. “But I have been so long in it,” cries the man. Yes, but if you truly trust Christ, your first effort will be to fight against the evil habit. And if it is not merely a habit, nor an impulse, but if your danger lies in the existence of a cunning spirit who is armed at all points and both strong and subtle, yet you must not yield, but resolve to resist to the death, cheered by the gracious promise that he will flee from you! You shall, in the name of Jesus overcome temptation, master evil habits and escape from bondage! Only strike for freedom and disdain the chain of sin. If you are to have peace with God there must be war with Satan! You cannot rest in your spirit and know the peace which faith gives unless you wage war to the knife against every evil and against the patron and Prince of Evil, even Satan. Are you ready for this? You cannot have peace unless you are!
Next the Apostle writes, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” He who sincerely believes in Christ will be much in prayer. Yet there are some who say, “We want to be saved,” but they neglect prayer! They cannot make out how it is that they have no enjoyment of religion. But why need they be puzzled? Ask your neglected closet! Ask your own heart how you can be happy and prosperous and blessed in Divine things if you do not pray! Remember that the mere saying of prayers is not praying. The essence of prayer lies in the heart drawing near to God—and it can do that without words. Prayer is the feeling that God is present and the desire of the soul to come near to Him so as to know His influence, to know His love, to feel His power and to be conformed to His will.
This kind of praying can be continued by the power of God’s Holy Spirit all day long. We must know something of this. “Behold he prays” is one of the first marks of a saved soul and if you think that by some momentary act of faith which you suppose you exercised you are therefore saved—while your heart remains at a distance from God, prayerless and careless—you are fatally deceived! Such is not the teaching of Scripture and there is no guarantee for it in the promises of God. If prayer is utterly neglected, the soul is dead!
The next precept is, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners.” What? Does the Word of God tell sinners to cleanse their hands and purify their hearts? Yes, it does. Some Brother whispers, “Ah, that is Arminianism.” Who are you that reply against God’s Word? If such teaching is in this Inspired Book, how dare we question it? It comes with a, “thus says the Lord”—“Cleanse your hands, you sinners.” When a man comes to God and says, “I am willing and anxious to be saved and I trust Christ to save me,” and yet he keeps his dirty black hands exercised in filthy actions doing what he knows is wrong, does he expect God to hear him? Do I need spend even so many as a half-dozen words to show that this man does not believe and is not really honest before the Most High? “Cleanse your hands, you sinners.”
Can you ask God to be at peace with you while your hands grasp your sins with loving embrace and are full of bribes, or are foul with lusts, or are smiting with the fist of anger and wrath? If you do the devil’s work with your hands, do not expect the Lord to fill them with His blessings! It cannot be! You must break off your sins by righteousness and, as Paul shook off the viper from His hand into the fire, so must you. By the power of faith, if it is a real faith, you will be able to purge your outward life. Why, when men talk about being spiritual and are not even decently moral, it makes us sick to hear them! How dare they talk about being Christians when they do not live as well as Muslims or heathens? Oh you dogs, howling out your shame, what portion have you among the children so long as you bite and devour and love your filthiness? It is idle to talk about salvation while sin is hugged to the heart with both hands. Away with such hypocrisy!
Then it is added, “Purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Can they do this? Assuredly not by themselves, but still, in order to have peace with God there must be so much purification of the heart that it shall no longer be double-minded. He who would have salvation must seek it with all his heart—must so seek it that he is resolved to give up anything and to endure anything so that he may but be rescued from sin. “Purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Get rid of that leering eye of yours towards uncleanness and that cross eye which squints towards worldly gain—for till your whole heart cries after the Most High, He will not hear you!
When you can say with David, “My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God,” you shall find the Lord! When you cease trying to serve two masters and submit yourselves unto God, He will bless you, but not till then! I believe that this touches the center of the mischief in many of those hearts which fail to reach peace—they have not given up sin—they are not whole-hearted after salvation. Then the Lord bids us “be afflicted, and mourn, and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.”
I grieve to say that I have met with persons who say, “I cannot find peace, I cannot get salvation,” and talk very prettily in that way. But yet, outside the door they are giggling one with another, as if it were matter of amusement. The Sabbath is spent in vain, idle, frivolous conversation—seriousness they do not seem even to have felt. The whole matter appears to be a mere sport. Some converts seem to jump into religion as people do into a bath—they jump out, again, about as fast. They never weigh the matter. They have no thought, no sorrow for sin, no humiliation before God. Stop that laughter if you are an unsaved soul—for decency’s sake, stop that laughter!
For you to laugh while in danger of being lost sounds to me as ghastly and as grim as if the fiends of Hell were to set up a theater and perform a comedy in the Pit. What right have you with laughter while sin is unforgiven, while God is angry with you? No, go to Him in fitter form and fashion or He will refuse your prayers. Be serious! Begin to think of death, judgment, the wrath to come. These are not trifles, Friends, nor things to make sport about. Neither is true religion a thing that is to be attended to as easily as when one snaps his finger and says, “Heigh presto! Quick. It’s done!”
By no means! If you are saved, your mind is solemnly impressed by eternal realities and you are serious about matters of life and death. The very thought of sin pains you—and since you meet with it in your daily life, you have cause for daily humbling and are afflicted because of it. Many, I fear, fail to get peace because it is not a solemn matter at all for them. They trifle with it as if it were a game for boys and girls to play and not for the heart and spirit to enter upon with deep
concern.
Then the Lord sums up His precepts by saying, “Humble yourselves in the sight of God.” With that I close. There must be a deep and lowly prostration of the spirit before God. If you happen to have a boy who shows a high rebellious spirit against you and you have chastened him for it, but yet he continues in his rebellion, you tell him that there must be a humbling of himself before you can forgive him. If he is a wise child and wishes to escape your anger, he makes a dutiful confession, acknowledges that he was wrong and appeals to your love—and you freely pardon him. But in many who pretend to come to God there is no humbling. They do not admit that they ever did anything particularly wrong and they do not care if they did! Still, they hear there is such a thing as believing in Jesus and they profess to believe, not because there is any need for it, as they think, but for fashion’s sake.
Ah, Friends, Jesus Christ did not come to heal the whole, but the sick! Neither did He die to bind up those who are not broken, nor to make alive those who were never killed. There must be in you—and may God give it to you—a brokenness of spirit! A broken and a contrite heart He will not despise! If your heart has never been broken, how can He bind it up? If it were never wounded, how can He heal it? These are weighty matters and I speak them weightily lest anyone among you should be deceived. God help you to cry, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”
This is the way of salvation—that you believe in Jesus Christ whom God has sent! But remember that He saves us FROM our sins, not IN our sins! Faith in Jesus Christ saves and will save all who have it—but it is by purging out sin. It assures us that we are pardoned and thus it makes us love the Christ by whom we are forgiven. This love leads us to abhor ourselves for our sins and we endeavor to purify ourselves from them by His Spirit. Faith without works is dead, being alone, and though a man is justified by faith and not by works—and by faith alone—not even in part by his works!
Yet the faith which saves is a faith which produces good works and leads into the way of holiness. He who does not seek after righteousness and true holiness, let him pretend what he may, he is dead while he lives! The Lord have mercy upon you, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Hymn for Today:
“In the Cross of Christ I Glory” John Bowring, 1792-1872
1. In the cross of Christ I glory,
towering o’er the wrecks of time;
all the light of sacred story
gathers round its head sublime.
2. When the woes of life o’ertake me,
hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
never shall the cross forsake me.
Lo! it glows with peace and joy.
3. When the sun of bliss is beaming
light and love upon my way,
from the cross the radiance streaming
adds more luster to the day.
4. Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,
by the cross are sanctified;
peace is there that knows no measure,
joys that through all time abide.
5. In the cross of Christ I glory,
towering o’er the wrecks of time;
all the light of sacred story
gathers round its head sublime.

Through the Bible in One Year:
Judges 1 to 10
1 Now after Joshua’s death, the Israelites consulted Yahweh, asking, ‘Which of us is to march on the Canaanites first, to make war on them?’
2 And Yahweh replied, ‘Judah is to march on them first; I am delivering the country into his hands.’
3 Judah then said to his brother Simeon, ‘March with me into the territory allotted to me; we shall make war on the Canaanites, and then I in my turn shall march into your territory with you.’ And Simeon marched with him.
4 So Judah marched on them, and Yahweh delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they defeated them at Bezek-ten thousand of them!
5 At Bezek they came upon Adoni-Bezek; they joined battle with him and defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites.
6 Adoni-Bezek took to flight, but they chased and captured him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
7 Adoni-Bezek said, ‘Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up the crumbs under my table. As I did, God does to me.’ He was taken to Jerusalem, and there he died.
8 (The sons of Judah attacked Jerusalem and took it: they put its people to the sword and set fire to the city.)
9 After this the sons of Judah went down to make war on the Canaanites who were living in the highlands, the Negeb and the lowlands.
10 Judah next marched on the Canaanites living in Hebron — the name of Hebron in olden days was Kiriath-Arba — and beat Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.
11 From there, he marched on the inhabitants of Debir — the name of Debir in olden days was Kiriath-Sepher.
12 Caleb said, ‘To the man who conquers and captures Kiriath-Sepher, I shall give my daughter Achsah as wife.’
13 The man who captured it was Othniel son of Kenaz, younger brother of Caleb, who gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.
14 When she arrived, he urged her to ask her father for arable land, but when she alighted from the donkey and Caleb asked her, ‘What is the matter?’
15 she said to him, ‘Grant me a blessing! As the land you have given me is the Negeb, give me springs of water, too!’ So Caleb gave her what she wanted: the upper springs and the lower springs.
16 The sons of Hobab the Kenite, father-in-law of Moses, marched up with the sons of Judah from the City of Palm Trees into the desert of Judah lying in the Negeb of Arad, where they went and settled among the people.
17 Judah then set out with his brother Simeon. They beat the Canaanites who lived in Zephath and delivered it over to the curse of destruction; hence the town was given the name of Hormah.
18 Judah then captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, Ekron and its territory.And Yahweh was with Judah, who made himself master of the highlands;
19 he could not, however, dispossess the inhabitants of the plain, since they had iron chariots.
20 As Moses had directed, Hebron was given to Caleb, and he drove the three sons of Anak out of it.
21 As regards the Jebusites living in Jerusalem, the sons of Benjamin did not dispossess them, and the Jebusites have been living in Jerusalem with the sons of Benjamin ever since.
22 Similarly, the House of Joseph marched on Bethel, and Yahweh was with them.
23 The House of Joseph made a reconnaissance of Bethel. (In olden days, the name of the town was Luz.)
24 The scouts saw a man coming out of the town and said to him, ‘Show us how to get into the town and we shall show you faithful love.’
25 And when he had shown them a way into the town, they put the town to the sword but let the man and his whole clan go.
26 The man went off to the country of the Hittites and built a town which he called Luz; and that has been its name ever since.
27 Manasseh did not dispossess Beth-Shean and its dependencies, nor Taanach and its dependencies, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its dependencies, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its dependencies, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its dependencies; in those parts the Canaanites held their ground.
28 But when the Israelites became stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labour, although they did not dispossess them.
29 Nor did Ephraim dispossess the Canaanites living in Gezer; thus, the Canaanites went on living in Gezer with him.
30 Zebulun did not dispossess the inhabitants of Kitron or of Nahalol. The Canaanites lived on with Zebulun but were subjected to forced labour.
31 Asher did not dispossess the inhabitants of Acco, nor those of Sidon, of Mahalab, of Achzib, of Helbah, of Aphek or of Rehob.
32 So the Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the country, not having dispossessed them.
33 Naphtali did not dispossess the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh or of Beth-Anath; they settled among the Canaanite inhabitants of the country, but the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh and of Beth-Anath were subjected to forced labour for them.
34 The Amorites drove the Danites back into the highlands and would not let them come down into the plain.
35 The Amorites held their ground at Har — Heres and Shaalbim, but when the hand of the House of Joseph grew heavier, they were subjected to forced labour. (
36 The territory of the Edomites begins at the Ascent of Scorpions, runs to the Rock and continues on upwards.)
1 The Angel of Yahweh went up from Gilgal to Bethel and said, ‘I have brought you out of Egypt and led you into this country, which I promised on oath to your ancestors. I said, “I shall never break my covenant with you.
2 You for your part must make no covenant with the inhabitants of this country; you will destroy their altars.” But you have not listened to my voice. What is the reason for this?
3 Very well, I now say this, “I am not going to drive these nations out before you. They will become your oppressors, and their gods will be a snare for you.”
4 When the angel of Yahweh had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people began to wail at the top of their voices.
5 And they called the place Bochim, and offered sacrifices to Yahweh there.
6 Joshua having dismissed the people, the Israelites then went away, each one to his own heritage, to occupy the country.
7 The people served Yahweh throughout the lifetime of Joshua and throughout the lifetime of those elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the great deeds which Yahweh had done for the sake of Israel.
8 Joshua son of Nun, servant of Yahweh, was a hundred and ten years old when he died.
9 He was buried on the estate which he had received as his heritage at Timnath-Heres in the highlands of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
10 And when that whole generation had been gathered to its ancestors, another generation followed it which knew neither Yahweh nor the deeds which he had done for the sake of Israel.
11 The Israelites then did what is evil in Yahweh’s eyes and served the Baals.
12 They deserted Yahweh, God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt, and they followed other gods, from those of the surrounding peoples. They bowed down to these; they provoked Yahweh;
13 they deserted Yahweh to serve Baal and Astartes.
14 Then Yahweh’s anger grew hot against Israel. He handed them over to pillagers who plundered them; he delivered them to the enemies surrounding them, and they were no longer able to resist their enemies.
15 Whenever they mounted an expedition, Yahweh’s hand was there to foil them, as Yahweh had told them and as Yahweh had sworn to them, so that they were in dire distress.
16 Yahweh then appointed them judges, who rescued them from the hands of their plunderers.
17 But even to their judges they refused to listen. They prostituted themselves to other gods and bowed down before these. Very quickly they left the path which their ancestors had trodden in obedience to the orders of Yahweh; they did not follow their example.
18 When Yahweh appointed judges for them, Yahweh was with the judge and rescued them from the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived, since Yahweh relented at their groans under their persecutors and oppressors.
19 But once the judge was dead, they relapsed into even worse corruption than their ancestors. They followed other gods; they served them and bowed before them and would not give up the practices and stubborn ways of their ancestors at all.
20 Yahweh’s anger then blazed out against Israel, and he said, ‘Since this people has broken the covenant which I laid down for their ancestors, since they have not listened to my voice,
21 in future I shall not drive before them any one of those nations which Joshua left when he died,
22 in order, by means of them, to put Israel to the test, to see whether or not they would tread the paths of Yahweh as once their ancestors had trodden them.’
23 Hence, Yahweh allowed these nations to remain; he did not hurry to drive them out, and did not deliver them into the hands of Joshua.
1 These are the nations which Yahweh allowed to remain, by their means to put all those Israelites to the test who had not experienced any of the Canaanite wars
2 (this was only to instruct the Israelites’ descendants, to teach them the art of war, those at least who had not experienced it previously):
3 the five chiefs of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hittites who lived in the range of the Lebanon, from the uplands of Baal-Hermon to the Pass of Hamath.
4 They were used to put Israel to the test and see if they would keep the orders which Yahweh had given their ancestors through Moses.
5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites and Amorites, the Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites;
6 they married their daughters, they gave their own sons to their daughters and they served their gods.
7 The Israelites did what is evil in Yahweh’s eyes. They forgot Yahweh their God and served Baals and Asherahs.
8 Then Yahweh’s anger blazed out against Israel: he handed them over to Cushan-Rishathaim king of Edom, and the Israelites were enslaved to Cushan-Rishathaim for eight years.
9 The Israelites then cried to Yahweh and Yahweh raised for the Israelites a deliverer who rescued them, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
10 The spirit of Yahweh was on him; he became judge in Israel and set out for war. Yahweh delivered Cushan-Rishathaim king of Edom into his hands, and he triumphed over Cushan- Rishathaim.
11 The country then had peace for forty years. Othniel son of Kenaz then died.
12 Again the Israelites began doing what is evil in Yahweh’s eyes, and Yahweh strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel, since they were doing what is evil in Yahweh’s eyes.
13 Eglon in conjunction with the sons of Ammon and Amalek marched on Israel, beat them and captured the City of Palm Trees.
14 The Israelites were enslaved to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.
15 The Israelites then cried to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised a deliverer for them, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjaminite; he was left-handed. The Israelites appointed him to take their tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
16 Ehud made himself a dagger — it was double-edged and a foot long — and strapped it under his clothes on his right thigh.
17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. This Eglon was a very fat man.
18 Having presented the tribute, Ehud sent away the men who had been carrying it;
19 but he himself, on reaching the Idols which are near Gilgal, went back and said, ‘I have a secret message for you, O king.’ The king commanded silence, and all his attendants withdrew.
20 Ehud went up to him; he was sitting in his private room upstairs, where it was cool. Ehud said to him, ‘I have a message from God for you, O king.’ The latter immediately rose from his seat.
21 Then Ehud, reaching with his left hand, drew the dagger he was carrying on his right thigh and thrust it into the king’s belly.
22 The hilt too went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, since Ehud did not pull the dagger out of his belly again.
23 Ehud went out through the privies, having shut and bolted the doors of the upstairs room behind him.
24 When he had gone, the servants came back and looked; the doors of the upstairs room were bolted. They thought, ‘He is probably covering his feet in the inner part of the cool room.’
25 They waited until they became embarrassed, but still he did not open the doors of the upstairs room. Eventually, they took the key and opened the door; and there lay their master, dead, on the ground.
26 Meanwhile, Ehud had got away, passed the Idols and made good his escape to safety in Seirah.
27 Once there, he sounded the horn in the highlands of Ephraim, and the Israelites came down from the hills with him at their head.
28 And he said to them, ‘Follow me, because Yahweh has delivered your enemy Moab into your hands.’ So they followed him, seized the fords of the Jordan against Moab and allowed no one to cross.
29 On that occasion they beat the Moabites, some ten thousand men, all tough and seasoned fighters, and not one escaped.
30 That day Moab was humbled under the hand of Israel, and the country had peace for eighty years.
31 After him came Shamgar son of Anath. He routed six hundred of the Philistines with an ox-goad; he too was a deliverer of Israel.
1 Once Ehud was dead, the Israelites again began doing what is evil in Yahweh’s eyes,
2 and Yahweh handed them over to Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned at Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Haroshet-ha-Goiim.
3 The Israelites then cried to Yahweh; for Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.
4 Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at the time.
5 She used to sit under Deborah’s Palm between Ramah and Bethel in the highlands of Ephraim, and the Israelites would come to her for justice.
6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, ‘Has not Yahweh, God of Israel, commanded, “Go! March to Mount Tabor and with you take ten thousand of the sons of Naphtali and the sons of Zebulun.
7 I shall entice Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, to encounter you at the Torrent of Kishon with his chariots and troops; and I shall put him into your power”? ‘
8 Barak replied, ‘If you come with me, I shall go; if you will not come, I shall not go, for I do not know how to choose the day when the angel of Yahweh will grant me success.’
9 ‘I shall go with you then,’ she said, ‘but, the way you are going about it, the glory will not be yours; for Yahweh will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.’ Deborah then stood up and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men marched behind him, and Deborah went with him.
11 Heber the Kenite had parted company with the tribe of Kain and with the sons of Hobab, father-in-law of Moses; he had pitched his tent near the Oak of Zaanannim, not far from Kedesh.
12 Sisera was informed that Barak son of Abinoam had encamped on Mount Tabor.
13 Sisera summoned all his chariots — nine hundred iron chariots — and all the troops he had, from Harosheth-ha-Goiim to the Torrent of Kishon.
14 Deborah said to Barak, ‘Up! For today is the day when Yahweh has put Sisera into your power. Is not Yahweh marching at your head?’ And Barak charged down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men behind him.
15 At Barak’s advance, Yahweh struck terror into Sisera, all his chariots and his entire army. Sisera leapt down from his chariot and fled on foot.
16 Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-ha-Goiim. Sisera’s whole army fell by the edge of the sword; not one man was spared.
17 Sisera meanwhile fled on foot towards the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. For there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite.
18 Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, ‘Stay here, my lord, with me; do not be afraid!’ He stayed with her in her tent, and she covered him with a rug.
19 He said to her, ‘Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.’ She opened the skin of milk, gave him some to drink and covered him up again.
20 Then he said to her, ‘Stand at the tent door, and if anyone comes and questions you — if he asks, “Is there a man here?” say, “No.” ‘
21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent-peg and picked up a mallet; she crept up softly to him and drove the peg into his temple right through to the ground. He was lying fast asleep, worn out; and so he died.
22 And now Barak came up in pursuit of Sisera. Jael went out to meet him and said, ‘Come in, and I will show you the man you are looking for.’ He went into her tent; and there was Sisera dead, with the tent-peg through his temple.
23 Thus God that day humbled Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites.
24 And the Israelites bore down more and more heavily on that king of Canaan, Jabin, until he was utterly destroyed.
1 They sang a song that day, Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam, and the words were:
2 That the warriors in Israel unbound their hair, that the people came forward with a will, bless Yahweh!
3 Listen, you kings! Give ear, you princes! From me, from me comes a song for Yahweh. I shall glorify Yahweh, God of Israel.
4 Yahweh, when you set out from Seir, when you marched from the field of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens pelted, the clouds pelted down water.
5 The mountains melted before Yahweh of Sinai, before Yahweh, God of Israel.
6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, there were no more caravans; those who went forth on their travels took their way along by-paths.
7 The villages in Israel were no more, they were no more until you arose, O Deborah, until you arose, mother of Israel!
8 They were choosing new gods when war was at the gates. Was there one shield, one spear to be found among the forty thousand men in Israel?
9 My heart is with the leaders of Israel, with the people who came forward with a will! Bless Yahweh!
10 You who ride white donkeys and sit on saddle-blankets as you ride, and you who go on foot,
11 sing — to the sound of the shepherds at the watering places! There they extol Yahweh’s blessings, his saving acts for his villages in Israel! (Then Yahweh’s people marched down to the gates.)
12 Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, declaim a song! Take heart, to your feet, Barak, capture your captors, son of Abinoam!
13 Then Israel marched down to the gates; like champions, Yahweh’s people marched down to fight for him!
14 The princes of Ephraim are in the valley. Behind you, Benjamin is in your ranks. Captains have come down from Machir, those who wield the commander’s staff, from Zebulun.
15 The princes of Issachar are with Deborah; Naphtali, with Barak, in the valley follows in hot pursuit. In the clans of Reuben there was much searching of heart.
16 Why did you stay among the sheepfolds, listening for the whistle, with the flocks? (In the clans of Reuben, there was much searching of heart.)
17 Gilead stayed on the other side of the Jordan, and why should Dan have stayed aboard ship? Asher remained beside the sea, peacefully living within his ports.
18 Zebulun is a people who have braved death, Naphtali too, on the high ground of the country.
19 The kings came and they fought, how they fought, those kings of Canaan, at Taanach, near the Waters of Megiddo, but no booty of silver did they take!
20 The stars fought from heaven, from their orbits they fought against Sisera.
21 The torrent of Kishon swept them away, the torrent of old, the torrent of Kishon. -March on, be strong my soul!
22 The horses’ hooves then hammer the ground: galloping, galloping go his steeds.
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the Angel of Yahweh, ‘curse, curse the people living there for not having come to Yahweh’s help, to Yahweh’s help as warriors!’
24 Most blessed of women be Jael (the wife of Heber the Kenite); of tent-dwelling women, may she be most blessed!
25 He asked for water; she gave him milk; she offered him curds in a lordly dish.
26 She reached her hand out to seize the peg, her right hand to seize the workman’s mallet. She hammered Sisera, she crushed his head, she pierced his temple and shattered it.
27 Between her feet, he crumpled, he fell, he lay; at her feet, he crumpled, he fell. Where he crumpled, there he fell, destroyed.
28 At the window, she leans and watches, Sisera’s mother, through the lattice, ‘Why is his chariot so long coming? Why so delayed the hoof-beats from his chariot?’
29 The wisest of her ladies answers, and she to herself repeats,
30 ‘Are they not collecting and sharing out the spoil: a girl, two girls for each warrior; a booty of coloured and embroidered stuff for Sisera, one scarf, two embroidered scarves for me!’
31 So perish all your enemies, Yahweh! And let those who love you be like the sun when he emerges in all his strength! And the country had peace for forty years.
1 The Israelites did what is evil in Yahweh’s eyes, and for seven years Yahweh handed them over to Midian;
2 and Midian bore down heavily on Israel. To escape from the Midianites the Israelites used the mountain clefts and the caves and shelters.
3 Whenever Israel sowed seed the Midianites would march up with Amalek and the sons of the East. They would march on Israel.
4 They would pitch camp on their territory and destroy the produce of the country as far as Gaza. They left Israel nothing to live on, not a sheep or an ox or a donkey,
5 for they came up as thick as locusts with their cattle and their tents; they and their camels were innumerable, they invaded the country to pillage it.
6 Thus, Midian brought Israel to great distress, and the Israelites cried to Yahweh.
7 When the Israelites cried to Yahweh because of Midian,
8 Yahweh sent a prophet to the Israelites. He said to them, ‘This is what Yahweh, God of Israel, says, “It was I who brought you out of Egypt, and led you out of the place of slave-labour.
9 I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and from the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave their country to you.
10 And I said to you: I am Yahweh your God. You are not to fear the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now living. But you have not listened to my voice.” ‘
11 The Angel of Yahweh came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah which belonged to Joash of Abiezer. Gideon his son was threshing wheat inside the wine-press, to keep it hidden from Midian,
12 and the Angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said, ‘Yahweh is with you, valiant warrior!’
13 Gideon replied, ‘Excuse me, my lord, but if Yahweh is with us, why is all this happening to us? And where are all his miracles which our ancestors used to tell us about when they said, “Did not Yahweh bring us out of Egypt?” But now Yahweh has deserted us; he has abandoned us to Midian,’
14 At this, Yahweh turned to him and said, ‘Go in this strength of yours, and you will rescue Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not sending you myself?’
15 Gideon replied, ‘Forgive me, my lord, but how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least important of my father’s family.’
16 Yahweh replied, ‘I shall be with you and you will crush Midian as though it were one man.’
17 Gideon said, ‘If I have found favour in your sight, give me a sign that you are speaking to me.
18 Please do not go away from here until I come back to you, bringing you my offering and laying it before you.’ And he replied, ‘I shall stay until you come back.’
19 Gideon went away, he prepared a young goat and from an ephah of flour he made unleavened cakes. He put the meat into a basket and the broth into a pot, then brought it all to him under the terebinth. As he approached,
20 the Angel of Yahweh said to him, ‘Take the meat and unleavened cakes, put them on this rock and pour the broth over them.’ Gideon did so.
21 The Angel of Yahweh then stretched out the tip of the staff which he was carrying, and touched the meat and unleavened cakes. Fire sprang from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened cakes, and the Angel of Yahweh vanished before his eyes.
22 Gideon then knew that this was the Angel of Yahweh, and he said, ‘Alas, my Lord Yahweh! Now I have seen the Angel of Yahweh face to face!’
23 Yahweh answered, ‘Peace be with you; have no fear; you will not die.’
24 Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh and called it Yahweh-Peace. This altar stands in our own day at Ophrah of Abiezer.
25 Now that night, Yahweh said to Gideon, ‘Take your father’s bull, the seven-year-old bull, and pull down the altar to Baal belonging to your father and cut down the sacred pole beside it.
26 Then, on top of this strong-point, build a proper altar to Yahweh your God. Then take the bull and burn it as a burnt offering on the wood of the sacred pole which you have cut down.’
27 Gideon then took ten of his servants and did as Yahweh had ordered him. But, being too frightened of his family and of the townspeople to do it in daylight, he did it at night.
28 Next morning, when the townspeople got up, they found that the altar to Baal had been destroyed, the sacred pole standing beside it had been cut down and the bull had been sacrificed as a burnt offering on the newly built altar.
29 ‘Who has done this?’ they asked one another. They searched, made enquiries and declared, ‘Gideon son of Joash has done it.’
30 The townspeople then said to Joash, ‘Bring out your son; he must die for having destroyed Baal’s altar and cut down the sacred pole which stood beside it.’
31 To the people all crowding round him, Joash replied, ‘Is it your job to plead for Baal? Is it your job to champion his cause? (Anyone who pleads for Baal must be put to death before dawn.) If he is a god, let him plead for himself, now that Gideon has destroyed his altar.’
32 That day, Gideon was given the name Jerubbaal, because, they said, ‘Baal must plead against him, because he has destroyed his altar!’
33 All Midian and Amalek and the sons of the East joined forces and, having crossed the Jordan, pitched camp in the plain of Jezreel.
34 And the spirit of Yahweh clothed Gideon around; he sounded the horn and Abiezer rallied behind him.
35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and Manasseh too rallied behind him; he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, and they marched out to meet him.
36 Gideon said to God, ‘If it is really you delivering Israel by means of me, as you have said,
37 look, I am going to put a woollen fleece on the threshing-floor; if there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground stays dry, then I shall know that you will deliver Israel by means of me, as you have said.’
38 And so it happened. Early next morning, Gideon got up, squeezed the fleece and wrung enough dew out of the fleece to fill a cup.
39 Gideon then said to God, ‘Do not be angry with me if I speak just once more. Allow me to make the fleece-test just once more: let the fleece alone be dry and there be dew all over the ground!’
40 And God did so that night. The fleece alone stayed dry, and there was dew all over the ground.
1 Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) got up very early, as did all the people who were with him; he pitched camp at En-Harod; the camp of Midian was north of his, under the Hill of Moreh in the valley.
2 Yahweh then said to Gideon, ‘There are too many people with you for me to put Midian into their power; Israel might claim the credit for themselves at my expense: they might say, “My own hand has rescued me.”
3 So now make this proclamation to the people, “Anyone trembling with fear is to go back and watch from Mount Gilboa.” ‘ Twenty-two thousand of the people went back, and ten thousand remained.
4 Yahweh said to Gideon, ‘There are still too many people. Take them down to the waterside and I shall sort them out for you there. If I say of someone, “He is to go with you,” that man is to go with you. And if I say of anyone, “He is not to go with you,”
5 So Gideon took the people down to the waterside, and Yahweh said to him, ‘All those who lap the water with their tongues, as a dog laps, put these on one side. And all those who kneel down to drink, put these on the other side.’
6 The number of those who lapped with their hands to their mouth was three hundred; all the rest of the people had knelt to drink.
7 Yahweh then said to Gideon, ‘With the three hundred who lapped the water, I shall rescue you and put Midian into your power. Let the people as a whole disperse to their homes.’
8 So they took the people’s provisions and their horns, and then Gideon sent all the Israelites back to their tents, keeping only the three hundred. The camp of Midian was below his in the valley.
9 Now it happened, that same night, that Yahweh said to him, ‘Get up and go down to the camp. I am putting it into your power.
10 If, however, you are nervous about going down, go down to the camp with your servant Purah;
11 listen to what they are saying, and that will encourage you to go down to the camp.’ So, with his servant Purah, he went down to the edge of the outposts of the camp.
12 Midian, Amalek and all the sons of the East were deployed in the valley as thick as locusts; their camels were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore.
13 Gideon got there just as a man was telling his comrade a dream; he was saying, ‘This was the dream I had: a cake made of barley bread came rolling into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent, struck against it and turned it upside down.’
14 His comrade replied, ‘This can only be the sword of Gideon son of Joash the Israelite. God has put Midian and the whole camp into his power.’
15 When Gideon heard the dream thus told and interpreted, he bowed in reverence; he then went back to the camp of Israel and said, ‘On your feet, for Yahweh has put the camp of Midian into your power!’
16 Gideon then divided his three hundred men into three groups. To each he gave a horn and an empty pitcher, with a torch inside each pitcher.
17 He said to them, ‘Watch me, and do as I do. When I reach the edge of the camp, whatever I do, you must do also.
18 I shall blow my horn, and so will all those who are with me; you too will then blow your horns all round the camp and shout, “For Yahweh and for Gideon!”
19 Gideon and his hundred companions reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when the new sentries had just been posted; they blew their horns and smashed the pitchers in their hands.
20 The three groups blew their horns and smashed their pitchers; with their left hands they grasped the torches, with their right hands the horns for blowing them; and they shouted, ‘The sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!’
21 And they stood still, spaced out round the camp. The whole camp was thrown into confusion and the Midianites fled, shouting.
22 While the three hundred blew their horns, Yahweh made each man turn his sword against his comrade throughout the entire camp. They all fled as far as Beth-ha-Shittah in the direction of Zarethan, as far as the bank of Abel-Meholah opposite Tabbath.
23 The men of Israel mustered from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh, and pursued Midian.
24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the highlands of Ephraim to say, ‘Come down to meet Midian, seize the water-points ahead of them as far as Beth-Barah and the Jordan.’ All the men of Ephraim mustered and seized the water-points as far as Beth-Barah and the Jordan.
25 They captured the two Midianite chieftains, Oreb and Zeeb; they killed Oreb at Oreb’s Rock and Zeeb at Zeeb’s Winepress. They pursued Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.
1 Now the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, ‘What do you mean by treating us like this, not summoning us when you went to fight Midian?’ And they reproached him bitterly.
2 He replied, ‘What have I achieved, compared with you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim’s grapes better than the vintage of Abiezer?
3 God delivered Oreb and Zeeb, the chieftains of Midian, into your power. What was I able to do, in comparison with what you have done?’ At these words, their anger with him died down.
4 Gideon reached the Jordan and crossed it, but he and his three hundred companions were exhausted with the pursuit.
5 So he said to the men of Succoth, ‘Please give my followers some loaves of bread, since they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna the kings of Midian.’
6 The headmen of Succoth replied, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your grasp, that we should give bread to your army?’
7 ‘Very well,’ retorted Gideon, ‘when Yahweh has put Zebah and Zalmunna into my power, I shall tear your flesh off with desert-thorn and thistles.’
8 From there he went up to Penuel and asked the men of Penuel the same thing; they replied as those of Succoth had done.
9 And to those of Penuel he made a similar retort, ‘When I return victorious, I shall destroy this tower.’
10 Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about fifteen thousand men, all that was left of the entire army of the sons of the East. Of men bearing arms, a hundred and twenty thousand had fallen.
11 Gideon approached them by the tent-dwellers’ route, east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the army when it thought itself in safety.
12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled. He pursued them; he took the two kings of Midian prisoner — Zebah and Zalmunna — and the whole army he routed in panic.
13 After the battle Gideon came back by the Ascent of Heres.
14 He caught a young man, one of the people of Succoth, and questioned him, and the latter wrote down the names of the headmen and elders of Succoth for him — seventy-seven men.
15 Gideon son of Joash then went to the people of Succoth and said, ‘Here you see Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me and said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your grasp, that we should give bread to your exhausted troops?” ‘
16 He then seized the elders of the town and, taking desert-thorn and thistles, tore the men of Succoth to pieces.
17 He destroyed the tower of Penuel and slaughtered the townsmen.
18 He then said to Zebah and Zalmunna, ‘The men you killed at Tabor — what were they like?’ They replied, ‘They looked like you. Every one of them carried himself like the son of a king.’
19 Gideon replied, ‘They were my brothers, the sons of my own mother; as Yahweh lives, if you had spared their lives I would not kill you.’
20 To Jether his eldest son he said, ‘Stand up and kill them!’ But the boy did not draw his sword; he dared not; he was still only a lad.
21 Zebah and Zalmunna then said, ‘Stand up yourself, and strike us down; for as a man is, so is his strength.’ Then Gideon stood up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the crescents from round their camels’ necks.
22 The men of Israel said to Gideon, ‘Rule over us, you, your son and your grandson, since you have rescued us from the power of Midian.’
23 But Gideon replied, ‘I will not rule you, neither will my son. Yahweh shall rule you.’
24 Gideon went on, however, ‘Let me make you one request. Each of you give me one ring out of his booty’ — for the vanquished had had gold rings, being Ishmaelites.
25 ‘We shall give them gladly,’ they replied. So he spread out his cloak, and on it each of them threw a ring from his booty.
26 The weight of the gold rings which he had asked for amounted to seventeen hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescents and the earrings and purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars round their camels’ necks.
27 From this Gideon made an ephod and set it up in his town, in Ophrah. All Israel, following his example, prostituted themselves to it, and it was a snare for Gideon and his family.
28 Thus Midian was humbled before the Israelites. He did not raise his head again, and the country had peace for forty years, as long as Gideon lived.
29 So Jerubbaal son of Joash went to live at home.
30 Gideon had seventy sons begotten by him, for he had many wives.
31 His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, to whom he gave the name Abimelech.
32 Gideon son of Joash died after a happy old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of Abiezer.
33 After Gideon’s death, the people of Israel again began to prostitute themselves to the Baals, taking Baal-Berith for their god.
34 The Israelites no longer remembered Yahweh their God, who had rescued them from all the enemies round them.
35 And to the family of Jerubbaal — Gideon — they showed no faithful gratitude for all the good which it had done for Israel.
1 Abimelech son of Jerubbaal confronted his mother’s brothers at Shechem and, to them and to the whole clan of his maternal grandfather’s family, he said,
2 ‘Please put this question to the leading men of Shechem: Which is better for you: to be ruled by seventy people — all Jerubbaal’s sons — or to be ruled by one? Remember too that I am your own flesh and bone.’
3 His mother’s brothers said all this on his behalf to all the leading men of Shechem, and their feelings swayed them to follow Abimelech, since they argued, ‘He is our brother.’
4 So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and with this Abimelech paid violent adventurers to follow him.
5 He then went to his father’s house at Ophrah and put his brothers, Jerubbaal’s seventy sons, to death on one and the same stone. Jotham, however, Jerubbaal’s youngest son, escaped by going into hiding.
6 All the leading men of Shechem and all Beth-Millo then met and proclaimed Abimelech king at the oak of the cultic stone at Shechem.
7 News of this was brought to Jotham. He went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted at the top of his voice: Hear me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may also hear you!
8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king to rule them. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’
9 The olive tree replied, ‘Must I forgo my oil which gives honour to gods and men, to stand and sway over the trees?’
10 Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king!’
11 The fig tree replied, ‘Must I forgo my sweetness, forgo my excellent fruit, to go and sway over the trees?’
12 Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and be our king!’
13 The vine replied, ‘Must I forgo my wine which cheers gods and men, to go and sway over the trees?’
14 Then the trees all said to the thorn bush, ‘You come and be our king!’
15 And the thorn bush replied to the trees, ‘If you are anointing me in good faith to be your king, come and shelter in my shade. But, if not, fire will come out of the thorn bush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
16 ‘Now then, if you have acted in sincerity and good faith in making Abimelech king, if you have dealt honourably with Jerubbaal and his family, and have treated him as his actions deserved,
17 my father having fought for you, risked his life and rescued you from the power of Midian,
18 and you today having risen up against my father’s family, murdered his sons — seventy of them on one and the same stone — and appointed Abimelech, his slave-girl’s son, to rule the leading men of Shechem, because he is your brother!-
19 if, I say, you have acted in sincerity and good faith towards Jerubbaal and his family, then may Abimelech be your joy and may you be his!
20 If not, may fire come out of Abimelech and devour the leading men of Shechem and Beth-Millo, and fire come out of the leading men of Shechem and Beth-Millo to devour Abimelech!’
21 Jotham then took to his heels; he fled and made his way to Beer; and there he stayed, to be out of his brother Abimelech’s reach.
22 Abimelech ruled Israel for three years.
23 God then sent a spirit of discord between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem betrayed Abimelech.
24 And this was so that the crime committed against Jerubbaal’s seventy sons should be avenged, and their blood recoil on their brother Abimelech who had murdered them, and on those leaders of Shechem who had helped him to murder his brothers.
25 The leaders of Shechem put men to ambush him on the mountain tops, and these robbed anyone travelling their way. Abimelech was told of this.
26 Gaal son of Obed, with his brothers, happened to pass through Shechem and win the confidence of the leaders of Shechem.
27 These went out into the countryside to harvest their vineyards; they trod the grapes and made merry and went into the temple of their god. They ate and drank there and cursed Abimelech.
28 Gaal son of Obed said, ‘Who is Abimelech, and what is Shechem, for us to be his slaves? Should not Jerubbaal’s son and his lieutenant, Zebul, be serving the men of Hamor, father of Shechem? Why should we be his slaves?
29 Who will put this people under my command, so that I can expel Abimelech? I should say to him, “Reinforce your army and come out!” ‘
30 Zebul the governor of the town was told what Gaal son of Obed had said, and he was furious.
31 He sent messengers secretly to Abimelech to say, ‘Look! Gaal son of Obed has come to Shechem with his brothers, and they are stirring up the town against you.
32 So, move under cover of dark, you and the men you have with you, and take up concealed positions in the countryside;
33 then in the morning at sunrise, break cover and rush on the town. When Gaal and his supporters come out to meet you, treat them as occasion offers.’
34 So Abimelech set off under cover of dark with all his own supporters and took up concealed positions over against Shechem, in four groups.
35 As Gaal son of Obed was coming out and pausing at the entrance of the town gate, Abimelech and his supporters rose from their ambush.
36 Gaal saw these men and said to Zebul, ‘Look, there are men coming down from the tops of the mountains!’ Zebul answered, ‘You mistake the shadow of the mountains for men.’
37 But Gaal insisted, ‘Look, there are men coming down from the Navel of the Earth and another group is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.’
38 Zebul then said, ‘Where are your mouthings now about “Who is Abimelech, for us to be his slaves?” Are not these the men you made light of? Sally out, then, and fight him.’
39 Gaal sallied out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and engaged Abimelech.
40 Abimelech drove Gaal off, who turned tail, many of his men falling dead before they could reach the gate.
41 Abimelech then stayed at Aruma, and Zebul expelled Gaal and his brothers and prevented them from living in Shechem.
42 Next day, when the people went out into the countryside, Abimelech was told of this.
43 He took his men, divided them into three groups and lay in wait in the fields. When he saw the people leaving the town, he bore down on them and slaughtered them.
44 While Abimelech and his group rushed forward and took position at the entrance to the town gate, the two other groups fell on everyone in the fields and slaughtered them.
45 All that day Abimelech attacked the town. He stormed it and slaughtered the people inside, razed the town and sowed it with salt.
46 On hearing this, all the leading men inside Migdal-Shechem took refuge in the crypt of the temple of El-Berith.
47 As soon as Abimelech heard that the leading men inside Migdal-Shechem had all gathered there,
48 he went up Mount Zalmon with all his men. Then taking an axe in his hands, he cut off the branch of a tree, picked it up and put it on his shoulder, and said to the men with him, ‘Hurry and do what you have seen me do.’
49 Each of his men similarly cut off a branch; then, following Abimelech, they piled the branches over the crypt and set it on fire over those who were inside; so that all the people in Migdal-Shechem died too, about a thousand men and women.
50 Abimelech then marched on Thebez, besieged it and captured it.
51 In the middle of the town there was a fortified tower in which all the men and women and all the leading men of the town took refuge. They locked the door behind them and climbed up to the roof of the tower.
52 Abimelech reached the tower and attacked it. As he was approaching the door of the tower to set it on fire,
53 a woman threw down a millstone on his head and cracked his skull.
54 He instantly called his young armour-bearer and said, ‘Draw your sword and kill me, so that it will not be said of me that “A woman killed him”.’ His armour-bearer ran him through, and he died.
55 When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they dispersed to their homes.
56 Thus God made to recoil on Abimelech the evil he had done his father by murdering his seventy brothers,
57 and all the evil that the men of Shechem had done God made recoil on their heads too. And so the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came true for them.
1 After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah, son of Dodo, rose to deliver Israel. He belonged to Issachar and lived at Shamir in the mountain country of Ephraim.
2 He was judge in Israel for twenty-three years; he then died and was buried at Shamir.
3 After him rose Jair of Gilead, who judged Israel for twenty-two years.
4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty young donkeys and who owned thirty towns, still known today as the Encampments of Jair, in the territory of Gilead.
5 Jair then died and was buried at Kamon.
6 The Israelites again began doing what is evil in Yahweh’s eyes. They served Baal and Astarte, and the gods of Aram and Sidon, the gods of Moab and those of the Ammonites and Philistines. They deserted Yahweh and served him no more.
7 Yahweh’s anger then grew hot against Israel and he gave them over into the power of the Philistines and the power of the Ammonites,
8 who from that year onwards crushed and oppressed the Israelites for eighteen years — all those Israelites living on the other side of the Jordan in Amorite territory, in Gilead.
9 Furthermore, the Ammonites would cross the Jordan and also make war on Judah, Benjamin and the House of Ephraim, so that Israel was in distress.
10 The Israelites then cried to Yahweh and said, ‘We have sinned against you, because we have turned from Yahweh our God to serve Baals.’
11 And Yahweh said to the Israelites, ‘When Egyptians and Amorites, Ammonites and Philistines,
12 when the Sidonians, Amalek and Midian oppressed you and you cried to me, did I not rescue you from their power?
13 But it is you who have forsaken me and served other gods; and so I shall rescue you no more.
14 Go and cry to the gods whom you have chosen. Let them rescue you in your time of trouble.’
15 The Israelites replied to Yahweh, ‘We have sinned. Treat us as you see fit, but please rescue us today.’
16 They got rid of their foreign gods and served Yahweh, who could bear Israel’s suffering no longer.
17 The Ammonites gathered and pitched camp in Gilead. The Israelites rallied and pitched camp at Mizpah.
18 The people, the chieftains of Gilead, then said to one another, ‘Who will volunteer to attack the Ammonites? He shall be chief of all who live in Gilead!’(New Jerusalem Bible)

Daily Office for Tuesday, January 24, 2012:
Psalm 45
1 [For the choirmaster Tune: 'Lilies . . .' Of the sons of Korah Poem Love song] My heart is stirred by a noble theme, I address my poem to the king, my tongue the pen of an expert scribe.
2 Of all men you are the most handsome, gracefulness is a dew upon your lips, for God has blessed you for ever.
3 Warrior, strap your sword at your side, in your majesty and splendour advance,
4 ride on in the cause of truth, gentleness and uprightness. Stretch the bowstring tight, lending terror to your right hand.
5 Your arrows are sharp, nations lie at your mercy, the king’s enemies lose heart.
6 Your throne is from God, for ever and ever, the sceptre of your kingship a sceptre of justice,
7 you love uprightness and detest evil. This is why God, your God, has anointed you with oil of gladness, as none of your rivals,
8 your robes all myrrh and aloes. From palaces of ivory, harps bring you joy,
9 in your retinue are daughters of kings, the consort at your right hand in gold of Ophir.
10 Listen, my daughter, attend to my words and hear; forget your own nation and your ancestral home,
11 then the king will fall in love with your beauty; he is your lord, bow down before him.
12 The daughter of Tyre will court your favour with gifts, and the richest of peoples
13 with jewels set in gold. Clothed
14 in brocade, the king’s daughter is led within to the king with the maidens of her retinue; her companions are brought to her,
15 they enter the king’s palace with joy and rejoicing.
16 Instead of your ancestors you will have sons; you will make them rulers over the whole world.
17 I will make your name endure from generation to generation, so nations will sing your praise for ever and ever.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 47
1 [For the choirmaster Of the sons of Korah Psalm] Clap your hands, all peoples, acclaim God with shouts of joy.
2 For Yahweh, the Most High, is glorious, the great king over all the earth.
3 He brings peoples under our yoke and nations under our feet.
4 He chooses for us our birthright, the pride of Jacob whom he loves.Pause
5 God goes up to shouts of acclaim, Yahweh to a fanfare on the ram’s horn.
6 Let the music sound for our God, let it sound, let the music sound for our king, let it sound.
7 For he is king of the whole world; learn the music, let it sound for God!
8 God reigns over the nations, seated on his holy throne.
9 The leaders of the nations rally to the people of the God of Abraham. The shields of the earth belong to God, who is exalted on high.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 48
1 [Song Psalm Of the sons of Korah] Great is Yahweh and most worthy of praise in the city of our God, the holy mountain,
2 towering in beauty, the joy of the whole world: Mount Zion in the heart of the north, the settlement of the great king;
3 God himself among its palaces has proved himself its bulwark.
4 For look, kings made alliance, together they advanced;
5 without a second glance, when they saw, they panicked and fled away.
6 Trembling seized them on the spot, pains like those of a woman in labour;
7 it was the east wind, that wrecker of ships from Tarshish.
8 What we had heard we saw for ourselves in the city of our God, in the city of Yahweh Sabaoth, which God has established for ever.Pause
9 We reflect on your faithful love, God, in your temple!
10 Both your name and your praise, God, are over the whole wide world. Your right hand is full of saving justice,
11 Mount Zion rejoices, the daughters of Judah delight because of your saving justice.
12 Go round Zion, walk right through her, count her bastions,
13 admire her walls, examine her palaces, to tell future generations
14 that such is God; our God for ever and ever, he is our guide!(New Jerusalem Bible)
Genesis 15:1-11,17-21
1 Some time later, the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram! I am your shield and shall give you a very great reward.
2 ‘Lord Yahweh,’ Abram replied, ‘what use are your gifts, as I am going on my way childless? . . .
3 Since you have given me no offspring,’ Abram continued, ‘a member of my household will be my heir.’
4 Then Yahweh’s word came to him in reply, ‘Such a one will not be your heir; no, your heir will be the issue of your own body.’
5 Then taking him outside, he said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can. Just so will your descendants be,’ he told him.
6 Abram put his faith in Yahweh and this was reckoned to him as uprightness.
7 He then said to him, ‘I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldaeans to give you this country as your possession.’
8 ‘Lord Yahweh,’ Abram replied, ‘how can I know that I shall possess it?’
9 He said to him, ‘Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.’
10 He brought him all these, split the animals down the middle and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not divide.
11 And whenever birds of prey swooped down on the carcases, Abram drove them off.
17 When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passing between the animals’ pieces.
18 That day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram in these terms: ‘To your descendants I give this country, from the River of Egypt to the Great River, the River Euphrates,
19 the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
Hebrews 9:1-14
1 The first covenant also had its laws governing worship and its sanctuary, a sanctuary on this earth.
2 There was a tent which comprised two compartments: the first, in which the lamp-stand, the table and the loaves of permanent offering were kept, was called the Holy Place;
3 then beyond the second veil, a second compartment which was called the Holy of Holies
4 to which belonged the gold altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant, plated all over with gold. In this were kept the gold jar containing the manna, Aaron’s branch that grew the buds, and the tables of the covenant.
5 On top of it were the glorious winged creatures, overshadowing the throne of mercy. This is not the time to go into detail about this.
6 Under these provisions, priests go regularly into the outer tent to carry out their acts of worship,
7 but the second tent is entered only once a year, and then only by the high priest who takes in the blood to make an offering for his own and the people’s faults of inadvertence.
8 By this, the Holy Spirit means us to see that as long as the old tent stands, the way into the holy place is not opened up;
9 it is a symbol for this present time. None of the gifts and sacrifices offered under these regulations can possibly bring any worshipper to perfection in his conscience;
10 they are rules about outward life, connected with food and drink and washing at various times, which are in force only until the time comes to set things right.
11 But now Christ has come, as the high priest of all the blessings which were to come. He has passed through the greater, the more perfect tent, not made by human hands, that is, not of this created order;
12 and he has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption.
13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on those who have incurred defilement, may restore their bodily purity.
14 How much more will the blood of Christ, who offered himself, blameless as he was, to God through the eternal Spirit, purify our conscience from dead actions so that we can worship the living God.(New Jerusalem Bible)
John 5:1-18
1 After this there was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now in Jerusalem next to the Sheep Pool there is a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew, which has five porticos;
3 and under these were crowds of sick people, blind, lame, paralysed.
4 for at intervals the angel of the Lord came down into the pool, and the water was disturbed, and the first person to enter the water after this disturbance was cured of any ailment he suffered from.
5 One man there had an illness which had lasted thirty-eight years,
6 and when Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had been in that condition for a long time, he said, ‘Do you want to be well again?’
7 ‘Sir,’ replied the sick man, ‘I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I am still on the way, someone else gets down there before me.’
8 Jesus said, ‘Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk around.’
9 The man was cured at once, and he picked up his mat and started to walk around. Now that day happened to be the Sabbath,
10 so the Jews said to the man who had been cured, ‘It is the Sabbath; you are not allowed to carry your sleeping-mat.’
11 He replied, ‘But the man who cured me told me, “Pick up your sleeping-mat and walk around.” ‘
12 They asked, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Pick up your sleeping-mat and walk around”? ‘
13 The man had no idea who it was, since Jesus had disappeared, as the place was crowded.
14 After a while Jesus met him in the Temple and said, ‘Now you are well again, do not sin any more, or something worse may happen to you.’
15 The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him.
16 It was because he did things like this on the Sabbath that the Jews began to harass Jesus.
17 His answer to them was, ‘My Father still goes on working, and I am at work, too.’
18 But that only made the Jews even more intent on killing him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he spoke of God as his own Father and so made himself God’s equal.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Ordination of Florence Li Tim-Oi
Psalm 116:1-2
1 Alleluia! I am filled with love when Yahweh listens to the sound of my prayer,
2 when he bends down to hear me, as I call.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Jeremiah 17:14-18a
14 Heal me, Yahweh, and I shall be healed, save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.
15 Look, they keep saying to me, ‘Where is Yahweh’s word? Let it come true then!’
16 Yet I have never urged you to send disaster, I never desired the fatal day, this you know; what came from my lips was not concealed from you.
17 Do not be a terror to me, you, my refuge in time of disaster.
18 Let my persecutors be confounded, not me, let them, not me, be terrified. On them bring the day of disaster, destroy them, destroy them twice over!(New Jerusalem Bible)
Galatians 3:23-28
23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the Law, locked up to wait for the faith which would eventually be revealed to us.
24 So the Law was serving as a slave to look after us, to lead us to Christ, so that we could be justified by faith.
25 But now that faith has come we are no longer under a slave looking after us;
26 for all of you are the children of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus,
27 since every one of you that has been baptised has been clothed in Christ.
28 There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither slave nor freeman, there can be neither male nor female — for you are all one in Christ Jesus.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Luke 10:1-9
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself would be visiting.
2 And he said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to do his harvesting.
3 Start off now, but look, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
4 Take no purse with you, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road.
5 Whatever house you enter, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!”
6 And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you.
7 Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house.
8 Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is put before you.
9 Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.”(New Jerusalem Bible)
2 Samuel 6:12b-19
12 King David was informed that Yahweh had blessed Obed-Edom’s family and everything belonging to him on account of the ark of God. David accordingly went and, amid great rejoicing, brought the ark of God up from Obed-Edom’s house to the City of David.
13 When the bearers of the ark of Yahweh had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fat sheep.
14 And David danced whirling round before Yahweh with all his might, wearing a linen loincloth.
15 Thus with war cries and blasts on the horn, David and the entire House of Israel brought up the ark of Yahweh.
16 Now as the ark of Yahweh entered the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul was watching from the window and when she saw King David leaping and whirling round before Yahweh, the sight of him filled her with contempt.
17 They brought the ark of Yahweh in and put it in position, inside the tent which David had erected for it; and David presented burnt offerings and communion sacrifices in Yahweh’s presence.
18 And when David had finished presenting burnt offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Yahweh Sabaoth.
19 To all the people, to the whole multitude of Israelites, men and women, he then distributed to each a loaf of bread, a portion of dates and a raisin cake. Then the people all went back to their homes.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 24:7-10
7 Gates, lift high your heads, raise high the ancient gateways, and the king of glory shall enter!
8 Who is he, this king of glory? It is Yahweh, strong and valiant, Yahweh valiant in battle.
9 Gates, lift high your heads, raise high the ancient gateways, and the king of glory shall enter!
10 Who is he, this king of glory? Yahweh Sabaoth, he is the king of glory.Pause(New Jerusalem Bible)
Mark 3:31-35
31 Now his mother and his brothers arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message asking for him.
32 A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, ‘Look, your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.’
33 He replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’
34 And looking at those sitting in a circle round him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers.
35 Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.’(New Jerusalem Bible)

Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Tuesday of the Third week in Ordinary Time
Saint(s) of the day:St. Francis of Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (+ 1622) – Memorial
Commentary of the day:
Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
On holy virginity, ch. 5
“Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother”
Those who dedicate themselves completely to the Lord should not worry that, by keeping their virginity like Mary, they will be unable to become mothers in the flesh… He who is the fruit of one holy Virgin alone is the glory and honor of all other holy virgins since, like Mary, they are mothers of Christ so long as they do the will of his Father. Mary’s glory and happiness at being the mother of Christ burst forth above all in the words of the Lord: «Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, my sister and my mother.» In this way he points to the spiritual parenthood joining him to the people he has redeemed. His brothers and sisters are the holy men and women who are inheritors together with him of his heavenly inheritance (Rm 8,17).
His mother is the whole Church since it is she who, by God’s grace, gives birth to Christ’s members, that is to say those who are faithful to him. Again, his mother is every holy soul who does the Father’s will and whose fruitful charity is made known in those to whom she gives birth for him, «until he has been formed in them» (cf Gal 4,19)…
From among all women Mary is the only one who is at the same time both virgin and mother, not only in spirit but also in her body. According to the spirit she is mother… of the members of Christ, namely ourselves, because by her charity she cooperated in bringing forth into the Church the faithful who are members of this divine leader, our head (Eph 4,15-16) whose mother according to the flesh she truly is. For it was necessary that our leader be born according to the flesh of a virgin to teach us that his members are to be born according to the spirit of another virgin, the Church. Therefore Mary is the only woman to be mother and virgin at the same time in both spirit and body. But the whole Church is spiritually also mother of Christ and virgin of Christ in the saints who are to inherit the Kingdom of God.

1st Thought for Today:
My Utmost for His Highest
Reading for Tuesday 24th January 2012
THE OVERMASTERING DIRECTION by Oswald Chambers
I have appeared unto thee for this purpose.(Acts 26:16)
The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was no passing emotion, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him, and he says, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” Our Lord said, in effect, to Paul – Your whole life is to be overmastered by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine. “I have chosen him.”
When we are born again we all have visions, if we are spiritual at all, of what Jesus wants us to be, and the great thing is to learn not to be disobedient to the vision, not to say that it cannot be attained. It is not sufficient to know that God has redeemed the world, and to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did effectual in me; I must have the basis of a personal relationship to Him. Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim, he was brought into a vivid, personal, overmastering relationship to Jesus Christ. Verse 16 is immensely commanding – “to make thee a minister and a witness.” There is nothing there apart from the personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s, he saw nothing else, he lived for nothing else. “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”

Reflecting God-Longing To Be Pure
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Scripture-Psalm 51:10-19
10 God, create in me a clean heart, renew within me a resolute spirit,
11 do not thrust me away from your presence, do not take away from me your spirit of holiness.
12 Give me back the joy of your salvation, sustain in me a generous spirit.
13 I shall teach the wicked your paths, and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, God, God of my salvation, and my tongue will acclaim your saving justice.
15 Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will speak out your praise.
16 Sacrifice gives you no pleasure, burnt offering you do not desire.
17 Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, a broken, contrite heart you never scorn.
18 In your graciousness do good to Zion, rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in upright sacrifices,-burnt offerings and whole oblations — and young bulls will be offered on your altar.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Longing To Be Pure by Gerald Crispin
When you hear the word “pure,” what comes to mind? What does it Mean to you? The dictionary defines “pure” as “genuine,” “untainted,” “free from anything contaminating,”"free from blemishes” and so on.
In Psalm 51 David asks God to create in him a pure heart. He asks to not be cast away from the Lord’s presence. Why does David feel the need to take such a request? Because he knows that God is pure, genuine, and unblemished. David’s sinful impurity cause him to fear God’s rejection. He is definitely tainted and blemished. David knows he is not pure, but he wants to be, he longs to be pure. David recognizes that purity is not within his own power; God alone can make him pure. David also asks for restored joy and to be given a willing spirit.
If we have sinned we need to join David and ask forgiveness. If we have been forgiven, we need to encourage and teach others how to do the same. We need to know what God desires most from us: a broken and contrite heart that longs to be pure.
Hymn for Today:
1. “Give Me Thy Heart” by Eliza E. Hewitt
“Give Me thy heart,” says the Father above—
No gift so precious to Him as our love;
Softly He whispers wherever thou art,
“Gratefully trust Me and give Me thy heart.”
Refrain:
“Give Me thy heart, give me thy heart”—
Hear the soft whisper, wherever thou art;
From this dark world He would draw thee apart,
Speaking so tenderly, “Give Me thy heart.”
2. “Give Me thy heart,” says the Savior of men,
Calling in mercy again and again;
“Trust in Me only, I’ll never depart—
Have I not died for thee? Give Me thy heart.”
Refrain:
“Give Me thy heart, give me thy heart”—
Hear the soft whisper, wherever thou art;
From this dark world He would draw thee apart,
Speaking so tenderly, “Give Me thy heart.”
3. “Give Me thy heart,” says the Spirit divine;
“All that thou hast to My keeping resign;
Grace more abounding is Mine to impart—
Make full surrender and give Me thy heart.”
Refrain:
“Give Me thy heart, give me thy heart”—
Hear the soft whisper, wherever thou art;
From this dark world He would draw thee apart,
Speaking so tenderly, “Give Me thy heart.”
2nd Thought for Today:
“Those who confess their sin, accepting the gift of salvation have this promise: Messiah will come to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire”(Gay Leonard and Debbie Goodwin).
Prayer Needs:
Developing Christian leaders in Switzerland.

The Upper Room Daily Devotional
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Keeping God in Sight
Suggested Bible Reading:
Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9
4 ‘Listen, Israel: Yahweh our God is the one, the only Yahweh.
5 You must love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.
6 Let the words I enjoin on you today stay in your heart.
7 You shall tell them to your children, and keep on telling them, when you are sitting at home, when you are out and about, when you are lying down and when you are standing up;
8 you must fasten them on your hand as a sign and on your forehead as a headband;
9 you must write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Today’s Scripture:
God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”(Hebrews 13:5 (NIV))
Today’s Devotional
The Bible verse on my daily calendar that morning was Matthew 28:20, in which Jesus says, “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” His words could have been a powerful word of hope to me because I have bipolar disorder and was going through a particularly difficult time. But I was so anxious that morning that I didn’t pay any attention to those words of scripture. Then as I started to put in my contact lenses, I lost one. It took me a while to locate it, but where I finally found it encouraged me to look at the day’s verse again: The lens had stuck to the calendar. My anxiety didn’t vanish that instant, but the Lord used my lost contact lens to remind me to focus on Christ’s promise to always be with me, especially in the midst of my anxious moments. And the Lord kept that promise.
It took a long time for me to learn healthy ways of dealing with my illness and my anxiety, but the Lord never left me. Over and over again, reminders from a variety of sources directed me back to the Bible. I learned to pay more attention to the words of scripture and to surround myself with them as a sign of God’s constant presence.
I still take medication to manage my illness, but my extreme anxiety is gone. As I learned to turn to scripture to help manage my fears, God has delivered me from them. These days, the Bible does more than help me find hope in hard times; it helps me to see and celebrate the life I have in Christ at all times. by Barbara Gail Bliss (Colorado, USA)
3rd Thought for the Day: The words of scripture are more than just words.
Prayer: O Lord, open our eyes to your word, and help us to see you more clearly in every circumstance. Amen.
Prayer Focus: People with mental illness
The scripture quotation, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2012 by The Upper Room, a ministry of GBOD. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or redistribute without written permission from the publisher.

Daily Meditation: Wisdom — Feast of St. Francis de Sales — January 24, 2012
Center for Action and Contemplation
WISDOM
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Feast of St. Francis de Sales,
patron of Christian writers and journalists
“You can catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than a barrel of vinegar,” says Francis de Sales.
Enlightenment cannot be manufactured, manipulated, or delivered on demand. It is always passed on from another. Jesus both claims to be the Light of the World and then says the same for us too! (See John 8:12 and Matthew 5:14-16.) It is surprising that most do not connect these two scriptures. Wisdom is not a do-it-yourself project. It is a mystery of transmission, contagion, and the passing on of life, as Francis de Sales did so well through his many loving messages in very hostile 17th-century Geneva.
I always tell people who ask if they can quote me that if it is true wisdom then I have no copyright to it. I learned it from someone else. If it is true wisdom it is always “common domain.”
Enlightenment is not about knowing as much as it is about unknowing; it is not so much learning as unlearning. It is more about entering a vast mystery than arriving at a mental certitude. Enlightenment knows that grace is everywhere, and the only reasonable response is a grateful heart and the acknowledgment that there is more depth and meaning to everything. A too quick and easy answer is invariably a wrong one. Adapted from On the Threshold of Transformation:
Daily Meditations for Men, p. 38
Starter Prayer:
Grant me wisdom. by Father Richard Rohr

4th Thought for Today:
Tuesday January 24, 2012
Forgiveness, the Cement of Community Life
Community is not possible without the willingness to forgive one another “seventy-seven times” (see Matthew 18:22). Forgiveness is the cement of community life. Forgiveness holds us together through good and bad times, and it allows us to grow in mutual love.
But what is there to forgive or to ask forgiveness for? As people who have hearts that long for perfect love, we have to forgive one another for not being able to give or receive that perfect love in our everyday lives. Our many needs constantly interfere with our desire to be there for the other unconditionally. Our love is always limited by spoken or unspoken conditions. What needs to be forgiven? We need to forgive one another for not being God! by Father Henri J. M. Nouwen

1.24.12 – Counsel on marriage and sex from The Church of the REsurrection-United Methodist in Leawood, Kansas, United States
Daily Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:1 “Now for the questions about which you wrote. Yes, it is a good thing for a man not to touch a woman;
2 yet to avoid immorality every man should have his own wife and every woman her own husband.
3 The husband must give to his wife what she has a right to expect, and so too the wife to her husband.
4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and in the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
5 You must not deprive each other, except by mutual consent for a limited time, to leave yourselves free for prayer, and to come together again afterwards; otherwise Satan may take advantage of any lack of self-control to put you to the test.
6 I am telling you this as a concession, not an order.
7 I should still like everyone to be as I am myself; but everyone has his own gift from God, one this kind and the next something different.
8 To the unmarried and to widows I say: it is good for them to stay as they are, like me.
9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry, since it is better to be married than to be burnt up.”(New Jerusalem Bible)
Reflection Questions:
Paul was single, celibate—and contented. But he knew sexuality and marriage were subjects of major and legitimate interest for many people. He saw value in some limits on sexual expression that the Greek and Roman cultures largely ignored. But he plainly favored sexual intimacy and joy as a means of expressing and strengthening commitment and trust.
In Corinth, up to 1,000 “sacred” prostitutes came down to the streets each night from the Temple of Aphrodite. In what ways did that culture and environment resemble today’s? How did this setting give special force to Paul’s words about each person having sexual relations exclusively with their own mate?
Paul is often seen as hating women. Note, however, his emphasis on mutuality, and the way he saw “authority” only to be exercised in a reciprocal, relational way. What bad experiences or fears make it difficult for you to build mutuality in a relationship? How can trust and shared authority create a stronger bond between people?
Weekly Prayer:
Lord God, “a man embraces his wife, and they become one flesh”? Wow—Genesis said the first human couple were really strongly attracted to each other! Sometimes I have that sense, too, but so many things (grief, illness, betrayal, unresolved childhood hurts, even just human brokenness in one or both partners) can go wrong. This week, teach me about the joy, bonding and sharing of life that “good sex,” sex as you intend it to be, can bring to our lives. Amen.
Tuesday 1.24.12 Insight from Rev. Anne Williams
Rev. Anne Williams is the Congregational Care pastor for members of the Resurrection family who have last names beginning with S-Z.
When I think of mutuality in marriage, I think first about household chores. Eric and I have gotten pretty good at the sacred act of chore-bartering. It usually goes a little something like this -
“I’ll do the toilets if you do the sinks and mirrors … toilets are worth double.”
“I already did the laundry.”
“Don’t know if you can say you did the laundry if you never got around to folding it.”
“I’ll do anything to get out of dusting. How about vacuuming, sweeping and mopping for dusting?”
I know some couples who swear by the rule where the one who cooks never has to do the dishes. But what Eric and I have found in our three short years of marriage is that you do what works. There have been times I’m swamped with 18 hours of seminary courses and two part time jobs and he’s stepped up to pull a little more weight. There have been other times when he’s in crunch-time at work and battling a head cold that I take a couple little tasks off his to-do list at home and bless him with his favorite meal for dinner. Until an official volume of rules and regulations is printed where some objective third party decides if toilet duty does really count for double points, keeping things perfectly even and equal will be a challenge anyway.
But mutuality is about much more than chores. In the Williams family we strive to honor God with mutuality as we make sure both partners’ experiences are honored, both voices are heard, both needs are met, and both give and receive, both compromise, and both feel honored and cherished for their unique contributions to the marriage. Now that’s a chore that takes some elbow grease!
Post Script: To see an interesting attempt to put numerical value on all it takes to keep a household moving day-in and day-out, see this article “How Much is a Homemaker Worth?”
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

5th Thought for Today:
Tuesday 24 January 2012
Culture as a place of Belonging
There is something very profound about culture as a place of belonging, a place of security, a place of celebration, a place where we can be poor and weak and strong together because the group protects the weaker ones, protects the more fragile ones. by Jean Vanier
Belonging: The Search for Acceptance
Windborne Production Video

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not
alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation
will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines
and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth
pains.” (Matthew 24:6–8)
Shalom,
For Israel and perhaps for the entire world, Iran will probably dominate the
news and shape 2012, whether we want it to or not.
Iran became a hot topic in the news last year when the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Tehran in November of being involved in
a secret nuclear weapons program.
Fordo which is a new Iranian nuclear site capable of producing 20-percent
enriched uranium, has begun operations in a heavily defended bunker site
inside a mountain southwest of Iran’s capital, Tehran.
United States and European Union sanctions imposed on Iran in a bid to halt
its nuclear program have led to increased tension between Iran and the West.
In a recent response to these sanctions, Tehran has threatened to close the
Straits of Hormuz, which would compromise oil shipments to the West.
The assassination of an Iraqi nuclear scientist two weeks ago has resulted in
Iran accusing Israel, the United States and Britain for the assassination, and
led to threats to avenge it.
One or more of the following three scenarios might play out this year:
The world will unify to take decisive action to stop Iran from
acquiring nuclear warheads;
The world will not take decisive action, and Iran will acquire nuclear
weapons; and/ or
Israel will have no choice but to take preemptive action with a first
strike against Iran.
The United States is coordinating with Israel on the issue of Iran’s nuclear
capabilities with regard to a possible Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff,
arrived in Israel on Thursday for talks with Defense Minister Ehud Barak,
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, and other senior defense and
intelligence officials.
Yeshua: Wars and Rumors of Wars
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore
we will not fear. … The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our
fortress.” (Psalm 46:1, 7)
Yeshua (Jesus) warned that in the last days, there will be wars and rumors
of wars. And yet Yeshua also encouraged his disciples not to lose heart!
(Matthew 24:6)
In the Jewish prayer book, called the Siddur, we read David’s Psalm 91 in
its entirety every day.
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of
the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my
God, in whom I trust.’” (Psalm 91: 1–2)
What is Praying for the Peace of Jerusalem?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure.”
(Psalm 122:6)
As Bible believing people, we are commanded to pray for the peace of
Jerusalem.
Many of us interpret this as a passive involvement with Jerusalem from the
safe distance of prayer.
In Hebrew, the Scriptures actually read Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim.
This carries the connotation of asking about the welfare of Jerusalem. In
other words, we are commanded to do more than pray; we are to be
concerned for her, aware of what is happening, and involved with her well being.
As God’s people are not to be merely passive observers of world events,
but active participants.
End-Time Prophecy
By becoming aware of end-time prophecies regarding Israel and the Middle
East, we can be more effective in prayer and action.
The Bible gives us insight into certain future events, as yet unseen, not to
frighten us, but to forewarn and prepare us.
“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and
pay the penalty.” (Proverbs 27:12)
We might look at current events from a political or an economic viewpoint,
but only when we bring in the Word of God do we have a three
dimensional perspective.
Judgment on Elam
“This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning
Elam [Iran].” (Jeremiah 49:34)
The Prophet Jeremiah gave a warning about a coming judgment on Elam,
which is an ancient name for the modern nation of Iran.
As a prophet, Jeremiah’s track record is impeccable. He foresaw the New
Covenant as well as the destruction of Judah by Babylon.
For this word, the prophet was arrested and thrown into a dungeon. Back
then, like today, people preferred false prophets who declared peace and
prosperity, but Jeremiah spoke the truth even though it was unpopular.
Just like Jeremiah, our calling is to tell the truth, not to make people feel
happy by saying all will be well.
This prophecy is for the ‘end times’. The fact that Israel was re-born in
1948 is proof that we are living in the last days. According to Jeremiah,
God will break the military and political power of Iran and scatter its people
to all nations.
“See, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. I will bring
against Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven; I will scatter
them to the four winds, and there will not be a nation where Elam’s exiles
do not go.” (Jeremiah 49:35–36)
God’s judgment against Elam (Iran) is specifically directed towards its
government leaders, as Jeremiah also says that God will establish His
sovereign rule in the midst of Iran and in the end will restore them.
God’s purpose in judgment is never vindictive but always redemptive
in purpose–in order that all people of every race, tongue and tribe will
come to know that He is the Lord Adonai.
“‘I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who want to kill them; I
will bring disaster on them, even my fierce anger,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will
pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them. I will set my
throne in Elam and destroy her king and officials,’ declares the Lord. ‘Yet
I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come,’ declares the Lord.”
(Jeremiah 49:37-39)
Tyranny and the Iranian Exile
“I will bring against Elam [Iran] the four winds from the four quarters of
heaven; I will scatter them to the four winds….” (Jeremiah 49:35–36)
Some consider that this Iranian exile prophesied in Jeremiah has already begun.
In 1979, many Iranians fearing the radical regime of the Islamic Revolution
fled the country.
Approximately five million Iranians now live in exile, scattered across the
world, with one million of them now residing in the United States.
Radical Islam has brought a horrible evil to the people of Iran. The country
is now characterized by political executions, arrests, imprisonments and
torture. Drug and alcohol abuse has skyrocketed. Freedom of speech is
suppressed.
The country has been devastated by poverty as the leadership hoards the
wealth for their own selves and spends huge sums on building their military
forces and developing nuclear weaponry.
This has triggered economic sanctions that make it even harder for the
common people of Iran to survive.
Anti-Israel Stance Brings Judgment
Today, Iranians live under an evil tyranny.
That tyranny has a spiritual aspect, since the people are trapped in a system
that is taking them away from God. Iran is one of the most fiercely ‘anti-
Israel’ and ‘anti-Yeshua/Jesus’ nations on the planet.
Christianity is outlawed in Iran, and the Christians there are persecuted.
Daily, the leadership of Iran publicly broadcasts vile threats and curses
against Israel and the Jewish people. By doing so, they are opposing God
and bringing their nation under a curse.
God has promised, “I will bless those that bless you (Israel) and will curse
those that curse you.” (Genesis 12:3)
Move of God: Iranians Come to Faith in Yeshua
We must pray that God will save our enemies, not just judge them. Indeed,
God is moving among Iranians.
Presently, over one million Shiite Muslim Iranians have come to faith in
Messiah Yeshua (Jesus).
One Iranian Muslim convert, Hormoz Shariat, called the ‘Billy Graham’ of
the Muslim world, is a research scientist with a PhD in computer engineering.
He used to be a radical Muslim who shouted on the streets of Iran, “Death
to Israel! Death to America!”
In 1979, he and his wife (an “American Christian” who had converted to
Islam and moved to Iran) came to the United States to pursue a higher
education in graduate school. Shariat, however, felt empty spiritually and
trapped in a loveless marriage.
Distraught, and on the verge of divorce, he began to study the Koran.
When he found few answers there, he began to study the Bible as well.
The Lord was also at work in his wife, and she became a born-again
Believer first, through people who shared the Gospel with her, including
the janitor in her building, who spoke very poor English.
Shariat was astonished by the change he witnessed in his wife.
Hormoz Shariat
Even though coming to faith in Yeshua was a difficult road for him because
he tried to find all the answers intellectually, he too eventually became a
born-again follower of Yeshua.
With a passion to reach their own people, they founded a television ministry
in which over 250 million Iranians have given their lives to God through
Yeshua since December 2001.
God is doing something great even in our worst enemy! He is calling to the
individual hearts of Iranians.
God loves Israel, but He also loves the people of Iran. Nevertheless, Iran
as a nation seems bent on war with Israel, and God will deal with them
as a nation.
Israel is surrounded by hostile Arab neighbors threatening her extinction.
Iran has the oldest Jewish Diaspora in the world with perhaps 25,000 Jews,
the second largest Jewish population in the Middle East after Israel. Had it
not been for persecution and forced conversion, there would be more Jews
in Iran. Thirteen Jews have been executed in Iran since the Islamic Revolution.
Jews have lived in this area of the world since the 6th century BCE (First Temple).
To reach Iranians everywhere, the Messianic Prophecy Bible will translated into Farsi.
The Looming War with Iran
“The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and
the heavens will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for His people, a
stronghold for the people of Israel.” (Joel 3:16)
Please join us in praying for the protection of Israel in the coming war with Iran.
At the same time that we pray for peace, we must also prepare
for war.
These two are not mutually exclusive or contradictory—we need to do both:
Pray for peace and prepare for war.
Each of us, especially in Israel, needs to seek God for specifics as to what
we can do to prepare for coming events.
If it’s a biological war, our gas masks will do little and if it’s a nuclear war,
nothing can protect us, except angels diverting the nuclear warheads.
Pray that Israelis would turn to God and to Messiah, Yeshua, in the
time of Jacob’s Trouble.
“He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” (Psalm 121:4)

Sermon for Today:
The Beauty of a Life of Service by Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, if ye continue in My word,
then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in
bondage to any man; how sayest Thou, ye shall be made free? Jesus answered
them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
And the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the Son abideth ever. If the Son,
therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”(John 8:31-36)
I want to speak to you today about the freedom which Christ gives to His disciples. This is the freedom into which man enters when he fulfils his life. The purpose and result of freedom is service. It sounds to us at first like a contradiction, like a paradox. Great truths very often present themselves to us in the first place as paradoxes, and it is only when we come to combine the two different terms of which they are composed and see how it is only by their meeting that the truth does reveal itself to us, that the truth does become known. It is by this same truth that God frees our souls, not from service, not from duty, but into service and into duty, and he who makes mistakes the purpose of his freedom mistakes the character of his freedom. He who thinks that he is being released from the work, and not set free in order that he may accomplish that work, mistakes the Christ from whom the freedom comes, mistakes the condition into which his soul is invited to enter. For…the freedom of a man simply consists in the larger opportunity to be and to do all that God makes him in His creation capable of being and doing, then certainly if man has been capable of service it is only by the entrance into service, by the acceptance of that life of service, that he enters into the fulness of his freedom and becomes the liberated child of God.
You remember…the way in which the bit of iron, taken out of its uselessness, its helplessness, and set in the midst of the great machine, thereby recognizes the purpose of its existence, and does the work for which it was appointed, for it immediately becomes the servant of the machine into which it was placed. Every part of its impulse flows through all of its substance, and it does the thing which it was made to do. When the ice has melted upon the plain it is only when it finds its way into the river and flows forth freely to do the work which the live water has to do that it really attains to its freedom. Only then is it really liberated from the bondage in which it was held while it was fastened in the chains of winter. The same freed ice waits until it so finds its freedom, and when man is set free simply into the enjoyment of his own life, simply into the realization of his own existence, he has not attained the purposes of his freedom, he has not come to the purposes of his life.
It should not surprise us when we think of freedom as a condition in which a man is called upon to do, and is enabled to do, the duty that God has laid upon him. Duty has become to us such a hard word, service has become to us a word so full of the spirit of bondage, that it surprises us at the first moment when we are called upon to realize that it is in itself a word of freedom. And yet we constantly are lowering the whole thought of our being, we are bringing down the greatness and richness of that with which we have to deal, until we recognize that God does not call us to our fullest life simply for ourselves. The spirit of selfishness is continually creeping in. I think it may almost be said that there has been no selfishness in the history of man like that which has exhibited itself in man’s religious life, showing itself in the way in which man has seized upon spiritual privileges and rejoiced in the good things that are to come to him in the hereafter, because he had made himself the servant of God.
The whole subject of selfishness, and the way in which it loses itself and finds itself again, is a very interesting one, and I wish that we had time to dwell upon it. It comes into a sort of general law which we are recognizing everywhere–the way in which a man very often, in his pursuit of the higher form of a condition in which he has been living, seems to lose that condition for a little while and only to reach it a little farther on. He seems to be abandoned by that power only that he may meet it by and by and enter more deeply into its heart and come more completely into its service. So it is, I think, with the self-devotion, consecration, and self- forget- fulness in which men realize their life. Very often in the lower stages of man’s life he forgets himself, with a slightly emphasized individual existence, not thinking very much of the purpose of his life, till he easily forgets himself among the things that are around him and forgets himself simply because there is so little of himself for him to forget; but do not you know perfectly well how very often when a man’s life becomes intensified and earnest, when he becomes completely possessed with some great passion and desire, it seems for the time to intensify his selfishness? It does intensify his selfishness. He is thinking so much in regard to himself that the thought of other persons and their interests is shut out of his life.
And so very often when a man has set before him the great passion of the divine life, when he is called by God to live the life of God, and to enter into the rewards of God, very often there seems to close around his life a certain bondage of selfishness, and he who gave himself freely to his fellow-men before now seems, by the very intensity, eagerness, and earnestness with which his mind is set upon the prize of the new life which is presented to him–it seems as if everything became concentrated upon himself, the saving of his soul, the winning of his salvation. That seat in heaven seems to burn so before his eyes that he cannot be satisfied for a moment with any thought that draws him away from it, and he presses forward that he may be saved. But by and by, as he enters more deeply into that life, the self-forgetfulness comes to him again and as a thing more divine. By and by, as the man walks up the mountain, he seems to pass out of the cloud which hangs about the lower slopes of the mountain, until at last he stands upon the pinnacle at the top, and there is in the perfect light. Is it not exactly like the mountain at whose foot there seems to be the open sunshine where men see everything, and on whose summit there is the sunshine, but on whose sides, and half way up, there seems to linger a long cloud, in which man has to struggle until he comes to the full result of his life? So it is with self-consecration, with service. You easily do it in some small ways in the lower life. Life becomes intensified and earnest with a serious purpose, and it seems as if it gathered itself together into selfishness. Only then it opens by and by into the largest and noblest works of men, in which they most manifest the richness of their human nature and appropriate the strength of God. Those are great and unselfish acts. We know it at once if we turn to Him who represents the fulness of the nature of our humanity.
When I turn to Jesus and think of Him as the manifestation of His own Christianity–and if men would only look at the life of Jesus to see what Christianity is, and not at the life of the poor representatives of Jesus whom they see around them, there would be so much more clearness, they would be rid of so many difficulties and doubts. When I look at the life of Jesus I see that the purpose of consecration, of emancipation, is service of His fellow-men. I cannot think for a moment of Jesus as doing that which so many religious people think they are doing when they serve Christ, when they give their lives to Him. I cannot think of Him as simply saving His own soul, living His own life, and completing His own nature in the sight of God. It is a life of service from beginning to end. He gives himself to man because He is absolutely the Child of God, and He sets up service, and nothing but service, to be the ultimate purpose, the one great desire, on which the souls of His followers should be set, as His own soul is set, upon it continually.
What is it that Christ has left to be His symbol in the world, that we put upon our churches, what we wear upon our hearts, that stands forth so perpetually us the symbol of Christ’s life? Is it a throne from which a ruler utters his decrees? Is it a mountain top upon which some rapt seer sits, communing with himself and with the voices around him, and gathering great truth into his soul and delighting in it? No, not the throne and not the mountain top. It is the cross. Oh, my brethren, that the cross should be the great symbol of our highest measure, that that which stands for consecration, that that which stands for the divine statement that a man does not live for himself and that a man loses himself when he does live for himself–that that should be the symbol of our religion and the great sign and token of our faith?
What sort of Christians are we that go about asking for the things of this life first, thinking that it shall make us prosperous to be Christians, and then a little higher asking for the things that pertain to the eternal prosperity, when the Great Master, who leaves us the great law, in whom our Christian life is spiritually set forth, has as His great symbol the cross, the cross, the sign of consecration and obedience? It is not simply suffering too. Christ does not stand primarily for suffering. Suffering is an accident. It does not matter whether you and I suffer. “Not enjoyment and not sorrow” is our life, not sorrow any more than enjoyment, but obedience and duty. If duty brings sorrow, let it bring sorrow. It did bring sorrow to the Christ, because it was impossible for a man to serve the absolute righteousness in this world and not to sorrow. If it had brought joy, and glory, and triumph, if it had been greeted at its entrance and applauded on the way, He would have been as truly the consecrated soul that He was in the days when, over a road that was marked with the blood of His footprints, He found His way up at last to the torturing cross. It is not suffering; it is obedience. It is not pain; it is consecration of life. It is the joy of service that makes the life of Christ, and for us to serve Him, serving fellow-man and God–as he served fellow-man and God–whether it bring pain or joy, if we can only get out of our souls the thought that it matters not if we are happy or sorrowful, if only we are dutiful and faithful, and brave and strong, then we should be in the atmosphere, we should be in the great company of the Christ.
It surprises me very often when I hear good Christian people talk about Christ’s entrance into this world, Christ’s coming to save this world. They say it was so marvellous that Jesus should be willing to come down from His throne in heaven and undertake all the strange sorrow and distress that belonged to Him when He came to save the world from its sins. Wonderful? There was no wonder in it; no wonder if we enter up into the region where Jesus lives and think of life as He must have thought of life. It is the same wonder that people feel about the miracles of Jesus. Is it a wonder that when a divine life is among men, nature should have a response to make to Him, and He should do things that you and I, in our little humanity, find it impossible to do? No, indeed, there is no wonder that God loved the world. There is no wonder that Christ, the Son of God, at any sacrifice undertook to save the world. The wonder would have been if God, sitting in His heaven, the wonder would have been if Jesus, ready to come here to the earth and seeing how it was possible to save man from sin by suffering, had not suffered. Do you wonder at the mother, when she gives her life without a hesitation or a cry, when she gives her life with joy, with thankfulness, for her child, counting it her privilege? Do you wonder at the patriot, the hero, when he rushes into the battle to do the good deed which it is possible for him to do? No; read your own nature deeper and you will understand your Christ. It is no wonder that He should have died upon the cross; the wonder would have been if, with the inestimable privilege of saving man, He had shrunk from that cross and turned away. It sets before us that it is not the glories of suffering, it is not the necessity of suffering, it is simply the beauty of obedience and the fulfilment of a man’s life in doing his duty and rendering the service which it is possible for him to render to his fellow-man.
I said that a man when he did that left behind him all the thought of the life which he was willing to live within himself, even all the highest thought. It is not your business and mine to study whether we shall get to heaven, even to study whether we shall be good men; it is our business to study how we shall come into the midst of the purposes of God and have the unspeakable privilege in these few years of doing something of His work. And yet so is our life all one, so is the kingdom of God which surrounds us and infolds us one bright and blessed unity, that when a man has devoted himself to the service of God and his fellow-man, immediately he is thrown back upon his own nature, and he sees now–it is the right place for him to see–that he must be the brave, strong, faithful man, because it is impossible for him to do his duty and to render his service, except it is rendered out of a heart that is full of faithfulness, that is brave and true.
There is one word of Jesus that always comes back to me as about the noblest thing that human lips have ever said upon our earth, and the most comprehensive thing, that seems to sweep into itself all the commonplace experience of mankind. Do you remember when He was sitting with His disciples, at the last supper, how He lifted up His voice and prayed, and in the midst of His prayer there came these wondrous words: “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified”? The whole of human life is there. Shall a man cultivate himself? No, not primarily. Shall a man serve the world, strive to increase the kingdom of God in the world? Yes, indeed, he shall. How shall he do it? By cultivating himself, and instantly he is thrown back upon his own life. “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified.” I am my best, not simply for myself, but for the world. My brethren, is there anything in all the teachings that man has had from his fellow-man, all that has come down to him from the lips of God, that is nobler, that is more far-reaching than that–to be my best not simply for my own sake, but for the sake of the world into which, setting my best, I shall make that world more complete, I shall do my little part to renew and to recreate it in the image of God?
That is the law of my existence. And the man that makes that the law of his existence neither neglects himself nor his fellow-men, neither becomes the self-absorbed student and cultivator of his own life upon the one hand, nor does he become, abandoning himself, simply the wasting benefactor of his brethren upon the other. You can help your fellow-men: you must help your fellow-men; but the only way you can help them is by being the noblest and the best man that it is possible for you to be. I watch the workman build upon the building which by and by is to soar into the skies, to toss its pinnacles up to the heaven, and I see him looking up and wondering where those pinnacles are to be, thinking how high they are to be, measuring the feet, wondering how they are to be built, and all the time he is cramming a rotten stone into the building just where he has set to work. Let him forget the pinnacles, if he will, or hold only the floating image of them in his imagination for his inspiration; but the thing that he must do is to put a brave, strong soul, an honest and substantial life into the building just where he is now at work.
It seems to me that that comes home to us all. Men are questioning now as they never have questioned before whether Christianity is indeed the true religion which is to be the salvation of the world. They are feeling how the world needs salvation, how it needs regeneration, how it is wrong and bad all through and through, mixed with the good that is in it everywhere. Everywhere there is the good and the bad, and the great question that is on men’s minds to-day, as I believe it has never been upon men’s minds before, is this: Is this Christian religion, with its high pretensions, this Christian life that claims so much for itself, is it competent for the task that it has undertaken to do? Can it meet all these human problems, and relieve all these human miseries, and fulfil all these human hopes? It is the old story over again, when John the Baptist, puzzled in his prison, said to Jesus, “Art thou He that should come? or look we for another?” It seems to me that the Christian Church is hearing that cry in its ears to-day: “Art thou He that should come?” Can you do this which the world unmistakably needs to be done?
Christian men, it is for us to give our bit of answer to that question. It is for us, in whom the Christian Church is at this moment partially embodied, to declare that Christianity, that the Christian faith, the Christian manhood, can do that for the world which the world needs. You say, “What can I do?” You can furnish one Christian life. You can furnish a life so faithful to every duty, so ready for every service, so determined not to commit every sin, that the great Christian Church shall be the stronger for your living in it, and the problem of the world be answered, and a certain great peace come into this poor, perplexed phase of our humanity as it sees that new revelation of what Christianity is. Yes, Christ can give the world the thing it needs in unknown ways and methods that we have not yet begun to suspect. Christianity has not yet been tried. My friends, no man dares to condemn the Christian faith to-day, because the Christian faith has not been tried. Not until men get rid of the thought that it is a poor machine, an expedient for saving them from suffering and pain, not until they get the grand idea of it as the great power of God present in and through the lives of men, not until then does Christianity enter upon its true trial and become ready to show what it can do. Therefore we struggle against our sin in order that men may be saved around us, and not simply that our own souls may be saved.
Tell me you have a sin that you mean to commit this evening that is going to make this night black. What can keep you from committing that sin? Suppose you look into its consequences. Suppose the wise man tells you what will be the physical consequences of that sin. You shudder and you shrink, and, perhaps, you are partially deterred. Suppose you see the glory that might come to you, physical, temporal, spiritual, if you do not commit that sin. The opposite of it shows itself to you–the blessing and the richness in your life. Again there comes a great power that shall control your lust and wickedness. Suppose there comes to you something even deeper than that, no consequence on consequence at all, but simply an abhorrence for the thing, so that your whole nature shrinks from it as the nature of God shrinks from a sin that is polluting and filthy and corrupt and evil. They are all great powers. Let us thank God for them all. He knows that we are weak enough to need every power that can possibly be brought to bear upon our feeble lives; but if, along with all of them, there could come this other power, if along with them there could come the certainty that if you refrain from that sin to-night you make the sum of sin that is in the world, and so the sum of all temptation that is in the world, and so the sum of future evil that is to spring out of temptation in the world, less, shall there not be a nobler impulse rise up in your heart, and shall you not say: “I will not do it; I will be honest, I will be sober, I will be pure, at least, to-night”? I dare to think that there are men here to whom that appeal can come, men who, perhaps, will be all dull and deaf if one speaks to them about their personal salvation; who, if one dares to picture to them, appealing to their better nature, trusting to their nobler soul, that there is in them the power to save other men from sin, and to help the work of God by the control of their own passions and the fulfilment of their own duty, will be stirred to the higher life. Men–very often we do not trust them enough–will answer to the higher appeal that seems to be beyond them when the poor, lower appeal that comes within the region of their selfishness is cast aside, and they will have nothing to do with it.
Oh, this marvellous, this awful power that we have over other people’s lives! Oh! the power of the sin that you have done years and years ago! It is awful to think of it. I think there is hardly anything more terrible to the human thought than this–the picture of a man who, having sinned years and years ago in a way that involved other souls in his sin, and then, having repented of his sin and undertaken another life, knows certainly that the power, the consequence of that sin is going on outside of his reach, beyond even his ken and knowledge. He cannot touch it. You wronged a soul ten years ago. You taught a boy how to tell his first mercantile lie; you degraded the early standards of his youth. What has become of that boy to-day? You may have repented. He has passed put of your sight. He has gone years and years ago. Somewhere in this great, multitudinous mass of humanity he is sinning and sinning and reduplicating and extending the sin that you did. You touched the faith of some believing soul years ago with some miserable sneer of yours, with some cynical and sceptical disparagement of God and of the man who is the utterance of God upon the earth. You taught the soul that was enthusiastic to be full of scepticisms and doubts. You wronged a woman years ago, and her life has gone out from your life, you cannot begin to tell where. You have repented of your sin. You have bowed yourself, it may be, in dust and ashes. You have entered upon a new life. You are pure to-day. But where is the sceptical soul? Where is the ruined woman whom you sent forth into the world out of the shadow of your sin years ago? You cannot touch that life. You cannot reach it. You do not know where it is. No steps of yours, quickened with all your earnestness, can pursue it. No contrition of yours can drawback its consequences. Remorse cannot force the bullet back again into the gun from which it once has gone forth. It makes life awful to the man who has ever sinned, who has ever wronged and hurt another life because of this sin, because no sin ever was done that did not hurt another life. I know the mercy of our God, that while He has put us into each other’s power to a fearful extent, He never will let any soul absolutely go to everlasting ruin for another’s sin; and so I dare to see the love of God pursuing that lost soul where you cannot pursue it. But that does not for one moment lift the shadow from your heart, or cease to make you tremble when you think of how your sin has outgrown itself and is running far, far away where you can never follow it.
Thank God the other thing is true as well. Thank God that when a man does a bit of service, however little it may be, of that too he can never trace the consequences. Thank God that that which in some better moment, in some nobler inspiration, you did ten years ago to make your brother’s faith a little more strong, to let your shop boy confirm and not doubt the confidence in man which he had brought into his business, to establish the purity of a soul instead of staining it and shaking it, thank God, in this quick, electric atmosphere in which we live, that, too, runs forth. Do not say in your terror, “I will do nothing.” You must do something. Only let Christ tell you–let Christ tell you that there is nothing that a man rests upon in the moment, that he thinks of, as he looks back upon it when it has sunk into the past, with any satisfaction, except some service to his fellow-man, some strengthening and helping of a human soul.
Two men are walking down the street together and talking away. See what different conditions those two men are in. One of them has his soul absolutely full of the desire to help his fellow-man. He peers into those faces as he goes, and sees the divine possibility that is in them, and he sees the divine nature everywhere. They are talking about the idlest trifles, about the last bit of local Boston politics. But in their souls one of those men has consecrated himself, with the new morning, to the glorious service of God, and the other of them is asking how he may be a little richer in his miserable wealth when the day sinks. Oh, we look into the other world and read the great words and hear it said, Between me and thee, this and that, there is a great gulf fixed; and we think of something that is to come in the eternal life. Is there any gulf in eternity, is there any gulf between heaven and hell that is wider, and deeper, and blacker, that is more impassable than that gulf which lies between these two men going upon their daily way?
Oh, friends, it is not that God is going to judge us some day. That is not the awful thing. It is that God knows us now. If I stop an instant and know that God knows me through all these misconceptions and blunders of my brethren, that God knows me–that is the awful thing. The future judgment shall but tell it. It is here, here upon my conscience, now. It is awful to think how the commonplace things that men can do, the commonplace thoughts that men can think, the commonplace lives that men can live, are but in the bosom of the future. The thing that impresses me more and more is this–that we only need to have extended to the multitude that which is at this moment present in the few, and the world really would be saved. There is but the need of the extension into a multitude of souls of that which a few souls have already attained in their consecration of themselves to human good, and to the service of God, and I will not say the millennium would have come, I don’t know much about the millennium, but heaven would have come, the new Jerusalem would be here. There are men enough in this church this morning, there are men enough sitting here within the sound of my voice to-day, if they were inspired by the spirit of God and counted it the great privilege of their life, to do the work of God–there are men enough here to save this city, and to make this a glowing city of our Lord, to relieve its poverty, to lighten its darkness, to lift up the cloud that is upon hearts, to turn it into a great, I will not say psalm-singing city, but God-serving, God-abiding city, to touch all the difficult problems of how society and government ought to be organized then with a power with which they should yield their difficulty and open gradually. The light to measure would be clear enough, if only the spirit is there. Give me five hundred men, nay, give me one hundred men of the spirit that I know to-day in three men that I well understand, and I will answer for it that the city shall be saved. And you, my friend, are one of the five hundred–you are one of the one hundred.
“Oh, but,” you say, “is not this slavery over again? You have talked about freedom, and here I am once more a slave. I had about got free from the bondage of my fellow-men, and here I am right in the midst of it again. What has become of my personality, of my independence, if I am to live thus?” Ay, you have got to learn what every noblest man has always learned, that no man becomes independent of his fellow-men excepting in serving his fellow-men. You have got to learn that Christianity comes to us not simply as a luxury but as a force, and no man who values Christianity simply as a luxury which he possesses really gets the Christianity which he tries to value. Only when Christianity is a force, only when I seek independence of men in serving men, do I cease to be a slave to their whims. I must dress as they think I ought to dress; I must walk in the streets as they think I ought to walk; I must do business just after their fashion; I must accept their standards; but when Christ has taken possession of me and I am a total man, I am more or less independent of these men. Shall I care about their little whims and oddities? Shall I care about how they criticise the outside of my life? Shall I peer into their faces as I meet them in the street, to see whether they approve of me or not? And yet am I not their servant? There is nothing now I will not do to serve them, there is nothing now I will not do to save them. If the cross comes, I welcome the cross, and look upon it with joy, if, by my death upon the cross in any way, I may echo the salvation of my Lord and save them. Independent of them? Surely. And yet their servant? Perfectly. Was ever man so independent in Jerusalem as Jesus was? What cared He for the sneer of the Pharisee, for the learned scorn of the Sadducee, for the taunt of the people and the little boys that had been taught to jeer at Him as He went down the street, and yet the very servant of all their life? He says there are two kinds of men–they who sit upon a throne and eat, and they who serve. “I am among you as he that serveth.” Oh, seek independence.
Insist upon independence. Insist that you will not be the slave of the poor, petty standards of your fellow-men. But insist upon it only in the way in which it can be insisted upon, by becoming absolutely the servant of their needs. So only shall you be independent of their whims. There is one great figure, and it has taken in all Christian consciousness, that again and again this work with Christ has been asserted to be the true service in the army of a great master, of a great captain, who goes before us to his victory, that it is asserted that in that captain, in the entrance into his army, every power is set free. Do you remember the words that a good many of us read or heard yesterday in our churches, where Jesus was doing one of His miracles, and it is said that a devil was cast out, the dumb spake? Every power becomes the man’s possession, and he uses it in his freedom, and he fights with it with all his force, just as soon as the devil is cast out of him.
I have tried to tell you the noblest motive in which you should be a pure, an upright, a faithful, and a strong man. It is not for the salvation of your life, it is not for the salvation of yourself. It is not for the satisfaction of your tastes. It is that you may take your place in the great army of God and go forward having something to do with the work that He is doing in the world. You remember the days of the war, and how ashamed of himself a man felt who never touched with his finger the great struggle in which the nation was engaged. Oh, to go through this life and never touch with my finger the vast work that Christ is doing, and when the cry of triumph arises at the end to stand there, not having done one little, unknown, unnoticed thing to bring about that which is the true life of the man and of the world, that is awful. And I dare to believe that there are young men in this church this morning who, failing to be touched by every promise of their own salvation and every threatening of their own damnation, will still lift themselves up and take upon them the duty of men, and be soldiers of Jesus Christ, and have a part in the battle, and have a part somewhere in the victory that is sure to come. Don’t be selfish anywhere. Don’t be selfish, most of all, in your religion. Let yourselves free into your religion, and be utterly unselfish. Claim your freedom in service.

Hymn for Today:
“In the Bleak Midwinter” by Christina G. Rossetti, 1830-1894
1. In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
in the bleak midwinter, long ago.
2. Our God, heaven cannot hold him, nor earth sustain;
heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
3. Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
but his mother only, in her maiden bliss,
worshiped the beloved with a kiss.
4. What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
yet what I can I give him: give my heart.

Through the Bible in One Year:
Joshua 21 to 24
1 The heads of families of the Levites then came to the priest, Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of families of the tribes of Israel-
2 they were then at Shiloh in Canaan. They said to them, ‘Through Moses, Yahweh ordered us to be given towns to live in, with their pasture lands for our livestock.’
3 In compliance with Yahweh’s order, the Israelites consequently and from their own heritage gave the Levites the following towns with their pasture lands:
4 Lots were cast for the clans of the Kohathites: to those Levites who were sons of Aaron the priest, fell thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin;
5 to the other sons of Kohath, by clans,
6 fell ten towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. To the sons of Gershon, by clans, fell thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 To the sons of Merari, by clans, fell twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.
8 The Israelites assigned these towns and their pasture lands to the Levites by lot, as Yahweh had ordered through Moses.
9 From the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Simeon, they gave the towns named below.
10 The first portion was for the sons of Aaron, belonging to the clans of the Kohathites, to the sons of Levi, since the first lot was theirs.
11 They gave them Kiriath-Arba, Anak’s father’s town — now Hebron — in the highlands of Judah, with its surrounding pasture lands.
12 The fields and villages of this town, however, they gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his property.
13 To the sons of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, as well as Libnah with its pasture lands,
14 Jattir with its pasture lands, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands,
15 Holon with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands,
16 Ashan with its pasture lands, Juttah with its pasture lands, and Beth-Shemesh with its pasture lands: nine towns taken from these two tribes;
17 and, from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its pasture lands, Geba with its pasture lands,
18 Anathoth with its pasture lands and Almon with its pasture lands: four towns.
19 Total number of towns for the priests, the sons of Aaron: thirteen towns with their pasture lands.
20 As regards the clans of the sons of Kohath, those Levites still left of the sons of Kohath, the towns of their lot were taken from the tribe of Ephraim.
21 They were given Shechem, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, in the highlands of Ephraim, as well as Gezer with its pasture lands,
22 Kibzaim with its pasture lands, and Beth-Horon with its pasture lands: four towns;
23 from the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands,
24 Aijalon with its pasture lands and Gath-Rimmon with its pasture lands: four towns;
25 and, from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its pasture lands and Jibleam with its pasture lands: two towns.
26 In all: ten towns with their pasture lands for the remaining clans of the sons of Kohath.
27 To the sons of Gershon, of the levitical clans, were given: from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, and Ashtaroth with its pasture lands — two towns;
28 from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its pasture lands, Dobrath with its pasture lands,
29 Jarmuth with its pasture lands and En-Gannim with its pasture lands — four towns;
30 from the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands,
31 Helkath with its pasture lands and Rehob with its pasture lands — four towns;
32 and, from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, Hammoth-Dor with its pasture lands and Kartan with its pasture lands — three towns.
33 Total number of towns of the Gershonites, by clans: thirteen towns with their pasture lands.
34 To the clans of the sons of Merari, the remainder of the Levites, fell: from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasture lands, Kartah with its pasture lands,
35 Rimmon with its pasture lands and Nahalal with its pasture lands — four towns;
36 on the other side of the Jordan opposite Jericho, from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the desert, on the tableland, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, Jahaz with its pasture lands,
37 Kedemoth with its pasture lands and Mephaath with its pasture lands — four towns;
38 and, from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, Mahanaim with its pasture lands,
39 Heshbon with its pasture lands and Jazer with its pasture lands — four towns.
40 Total number of towns forming the lot of the sons of Merari by clans, of the remaining levitical clans: twelve towns.
41 The total number of towns for the Levites in Israelite territory was forty-eight towns with their pasture lands.
42 These towns consisted in each case of the town itself and the pasture land round it. This was the case with all the towns.
43 This was how Yahweh gave the Israelites the entire country which he had sworn to give to their ancestors. They took possession of it and settled in it.
44 Yahweh granted them tranquillity on all their frontiers just as he had sworn to their ancestors and, of all their enemies, not one succeeded in resisting them. Yahweh put all their enemies at their mercy.
45 Of all the promises that Yahweh had made to the House of Israel, not one failed; all were fulfilled.
1 Joshua then summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh
2 and said to them, ‘You have observed everything that Moses, servant of Yahweh, ordered you, and whenever I have given you an order you have listened to me.
3 You have not deserted your brothers, from long ago until today, keeping the observance of the commandment of Yahweh your God.
4 Now that Yahweh your God has granted your brothers the rest that he promised them, go back to your tents, to the country belonging to you which Moses, servant of Yahweh, gave you on the other side of the Jordan.
5 But take great care to practise the commandments and the Law which Moses, servant of Yahweh, has given you: to love Yahweh your God, always to follow his paths, to keep his commandments, to be loyal to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.
6 Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went home to their tents.
7 To one half of the tribe of Manasseh, Moses had given a territory in Bashan; to the other half, Joshua gave another among their brothers on the west bank of the Jordan. As Joshua sent them home to their tents, he blessed them
8 and said to them, ‘You are going back to your tents with great wealth, with a great deal of livestock, with silver and gold, bronze and iron and great quantities of clothing; share the spoils of your enemies with your brothers.’
9 The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, leaving the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan, and made for Gilead, the territory which belonged to them as a result of Yahweh’s order given through Moses.
10 When they came to the stone circle by the Jordan, in Canaanite territory, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there beside the Jordan, a large, imposing altar.
11 This came to the ears of the Israelites. ‘Look,’ the word went round, ‘the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built this altar on the Canaanite side, near the stone circle by the Jordan, on the Israelites’ bank.’
12 At this news, the whole community of the Israelites mustered at Shiloh, to march against them and make war on them.
13 The Israelites sent the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in Gilead,
14 and with him ten leading men, one man from a leading family from each of the tribes of Israel, each of them being head of his family in the clans of Israel.
15 Having reached the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, they said this:
16 ‘The whole community of Israel says as follows, “What do you mean by this infidelity, which you have committed against the God of Israel by now repudiating your allegiance to Yahweh, and by building yourselves an altar with the intention now of rebelling against Yahweh?
17 “Was the crime which we committed at Peor so slight — although we have not managed to purify ourselves from that even now, in spite of the plague which has ravaged the community of Yahweh-
18 that you must now repudiate your allegiance to Yahweh? For since you are in rebellion against him today, tomorrow his anger will be aroused against the whole community of Israel.
19 “Is the country in which you have settled unclean? Then cross over into the country where Yahweh has settled, there where Yahweh’s Dwelling now stands, and settle among us. But do not rebel against Yahweh or involve us in your rebellion by building a rival altar to the altar of Yahweh our God.
20 When Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful to the curse of destruction, did not the retribution come down on the whole community of Israel, although he was only one man? Did he not have to die for his crime?” ‘
21 The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh spoke in their turn and answered the heads of the clans of Israel:
22 ‘The God of gods, Yahweh, the God of gods, Yahweh well knows, and let Israel know it too: if there has been rebellion or infidelity to Yahweh on our part, may he refuse to save us today!
23 And if we have built ourselves an altar with the intention of repudiating our allegiance to Yahweh and of presenting burnt offering and oblation or of offering communion sacrifices on it, may Yahweh himself call us to account for it!
24 The truth is, we have done this as a precaution: in the future, your descendants might say to ours, “What connection do you have with Yahweh, God of Israel?
25 Has not Yahweh set the frontier of the Jordan between us and you, you Reubenites and Gadites? You have no share in Yahweh.” Thus, your descendants would be the cause of stopping ours from fearing Yahweh.
26 ‘So we said to each other, “Let us build this altar, not for burnt offerings or other sacrifices
27 but as a witness between us and you and between our descendants after us, attesting that we too have the right to worship Yahweh, in his presence, with our burnt offerings, our victims and our communion sacrifices. And so, in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours: You have no share in Yahweh.”
28 And we furthermore said, “If ever it were to happen that they did say this either to us or to our descendants in the future, we should reply: Look at this structure, Yahweh’s altar, made by our ancestors not for burnt offerings or other sacrifices but as a witness between us and you.”
29 Far be it from us to rebel against Yahweh or now to repudiate our allegiance to Yahweh by building an altar for burnt offerings or oblations or sacrifices, in rivalry with the altar of Yahweh our God that stands before his Dwelling!’
30 When the priest Phinehas, the leaders of the community and the heads of the clans of Israel who were with him, heard the words spoken by the Gadites, the Reubenites and the Manassehites, they approved of them.
31 The priest Phinehas son of Eleazar then said to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the Manassehites, ‘Today, we can see that Yahweh is among us, since you have not been unfaithful to Yahweh in this matter; this means that you have spared the Israelites from Yahweh’s avenging hand.’
32 The priest Phinehas son of Eleazar and the leaders left the Reubenites and the Gadites and went back from Gilead to Canaan and the Israelites, to whom they reported the answer.
33 The Israelites were pleased to hear this; the Israelites gave thanks to God and spoke no more of marching against them to make war on them and to ravage the country inhabited by the Reubenites and the Gadites.
34 The Reubenites and the Gadites called the altar . . . , ‘Because’, they said, ‘it will be a witness between us that Yahweh is God.’
1 Now long after Yahweh had given Israel rest from all the enemies surrounding them — Joshua was old now, far advanced in years-
2 Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders, leaders, judges and officials, and said to them, ‘I myself am old, far advanced in years;
3 you for your part have witnessed all that Yahweh your God has done to all these nations for your sake; Yahweh your God himself has fought for you.
4 Look, these nations still remaining, and all the nations which I have exterminated from the Jordan all the way to the Great Sea in the west, I have allotted to you as the heritage for your tribes.
5 Yahweh your God will himself drive them out before you; he will dispossess them before you and you will take possession of their country, as Yahweh your God has promised you.
6 ‘So be very firm about keeping and doing everything written in the Book of the Law of Moses, not swerving from that either to right or to left.
7 Never mix with the peoples who are still left beside you. Do not utter the names of their gods, do not swear by them, do not serve them and do not bow down to them.
8 On the contrary, you must be loyal to Yahweh your God as you have been till now.
9 Yahweh has dispossessed great and powerful nations before you, and no one so far has been able to resist you.
10 One man of you was able to rout a thousand of them, since Yahweh your God was himself fighting for you, as he had promised you.
11 Be very careful, as you value your life, to love Yahweh your God.
12 ‘But should you in any way relapse, if you make friends with the remnant of these nations still living beside you, if you intermarry with them, if you mix with them and they with you,
13 then know for certain that Yahweh your God will stop dispossessing these nations before you, and for you they will be a snare, a pitfall, thorns in your sides and thistles in your eyes, until you vanish from this fine country given you by Yahweh your God.
14 ‘Today, you see, I am going the way of all the earth. Acknowledge with all your heart and soul that of all the promises made to you by Yahweh your God, not one has failed: all have been fulfilled — not one has failed.
15 ‘As every promise made to you by Yahweh your God has been fulfilled for you, by the same token Yahweh will fulfil all his threats against you, even to exterminating you from this fine country given you by Yahweh your God.
16 ‘For if you violate the covenant which Yahweh your God has imposed on you, if you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then Yahweh’s anger will be roused against you and you will quickly vanish from the fine country which he has given you.’
1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem; he then summoned all the elders of Israel, its leaders, judges and officials, and they presented themselves in God’s presence.
2 Joshua then said to all the people: ‘Yahweh, the God of Israel, says this, “From time immemorial, your ancestors, Terah, father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River, and served other gods.
3 I then brought your ancestor Abraham from beyond the River and led him through the length and breadth of Canaan. I increased his descendants and I gave him Isaac.
4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave possession of the mountainous country of Seir. Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt.
5 I then sent Moses and Aaron, and plagued Egypt with the wonders that I worked there; finally I brought you out.
6 I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you came to the Sea; the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen, to the Sea of Reeds.
7 They then called to Yahweh, and he spread a thick fog between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea go back on them and cover them. You saw with your own eyes what I did in Egypt. Then, for a long while, you lived in the desert.
8 I then brought you into the country of the Amorites, who used to live on the further side of the Jordan; they made war on you and I put them at your mercy; after which, you took possession of their country, since I destroyed them before you.
9 Next, Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose to make war on Israel, and sent for Balaam son of Beor to come and curse you.
10 But I would not listen to Balaam; instead, he had to bless you, and I saved you from his power.
11 “You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho, but the inhabitants of Jericho made war on you: Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I put them all at your mercy.
12 I sent hornets ahead of you, which drove out the two Amorite kings before you; this was not the work of your sword or of your bow.
13 And now I have given you a country for which you have not toiled, towns you have not built, although you live in them, vineyards and olive groves you have not planted, although you eat their fruit.”
14 ‘So now, fear Yahweh and serve him truly and sincerely; banish the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh.
15 But if serving Yahweh seems a bad thing to you, today you must make up your minds whom you do mean to serve, whether the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now living. As regards my family and me, we shall serve Yahweh.’
16 The people replied, ‘Far be it from us to desert Yahweh and to serve other gods!
17 Yahweh our God was the one who brought us and our ancestors here from Egypt, from the place of slave-labour, who worked those great wonders before our eyes and who kept us safe all along the way we travelled and among all the peoples through whom we passed.
18 And Yahweh has driven all the nations out for us, including the Amorites who used to live in the country. We too shall serve Yahweh, for he is our God.’
19 Joshua then said to the people, ‘You will not be able to serve Yahweh, since he is a holy God, he is a jealous God who will not tolerate either your misdeeds or your sins.
20 If you desert Yahweh and serve the foreigners’ gods, he will turn and maltreat you anew and, in spite of having been good to you in the past, will destroy you.’
21 The people replied to Joshua, ‘No! Yahweh is the one we mean to serve.’
22 Joshua then said to the people, ‘You are witnesses to yourselves that you have chosen Yahweh, to serve him.’ They replied, ‘Witnesses we are!’
23 ‘Then banish the foreign gods which you have with you and give your allegiance to Yahweh, God of Israel!’
24 The people replied to Joshua, ‘Yahweh our God is the one whom we shall serve; his voice we shall obey!’
25 That day Joshua made a covenant for the people; he laid down a statute and ordinance for them at Shechem.
26 Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. He then took a large stone and set it up there, under the oak tree in Yahweh’s sanctuary.
27 Joshua then said to all the people, ‘Look, this stone will be a witness to us, since it has heard all the words that Yahweh has spoken to us: it will be a witness against you, in case you should deny your God.’
28 Joshua then dismissed the people, every one to his own heritage.
29 After this, Joshua son of Nun, servant of Yahweh, died; he was a hundred and ten years old.
30 He was buried on the estate which he had received as his heritage, at Timnath-Serah which lies in the highlands of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31 Israel served Yahweh throughout the lifetime of Joshua and throughout the lifetime of those elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the deeds which Yahweh had done for the sake of Israel.
32 As regards the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought from Egypt, these were buried at Shechem in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor father of Shechem, and which had become the heritage of the sons of Joseph.
33 Eleazar son of Aaron then died and was buried at Gibeah, the town of his son Phinehas, which had been given to him in the highlands of Ephraim.(New Jerusalem Bible)

Daily Office for Monday, January 23, 2012:
Psalm 41
1 [For the choirmaster Psalm Of David] Blessed is anyone who cares for the poor and the weak; in time of trouble Yahweh rescues him.
2 Yahweh protects him, gives him life and happiness on earth. Do not abandon him to his enemies’ pleasure!
3 Yahweh sustains him on his bed of sickness; you transform altogether the bed where he lies sick.
4 For my part I said, ‘Yahweh, take pity on me! Cure me for I have sinned against you.’
5 My enemies speak to me only of disaster, ‘When will he die and his name disappear?’
6 When people come to see me their talk is hollow, when they get out they spread the news with spite in their hearts.
7 All who hate me whisper together about me and reckon I deserve the misery I suffer.
8 ‘A fatal sickness has a grip on him; now that he is down, he will never get up again.’
9 Even my trusted friend on whom I relied, who shared my table, takes advantage of me.
10 But you, Yahweh, take pity on me! Put me on my feet and I will give them their due.
11 This will convince me that you delight in me, if my enemy no longer exults over me.
12 Then you will keep me unscathed, and set me in your presence for ever.
13 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from eternity to eternity. Amen, Amen.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 52
1 [For the choirmaster Poem Of David When Doeg the Edomite went and warned Saul, 'David has gone to Abimelech's house'] Why take pride in being wicked, you champion in villainy, all day long
2 plotting crime? Your tongue is razor-sharp, you artist in perfidy.
3 You prefer evil to good, lying to uprightness. Pause
4 You revel in destructive talk, treacherous tongue!
5 That is why God will crush you, destroy you once and for all, snatch you from your tent, uproot you from the land of the living.Pause
6 The upright will be awestruck as they see it, they will mock him,
7 ‘So much for someone who would not place his reliance in God, but relied on his own great wealth, and made himself strong by crime.’
8 But I, like a flourishing olive tree in the house of God, put my trust in God’s faithful love, for ever and ever.
9 I shall praise you for ever for what you have done, and shall trust in your name, so full of goodness, in the presence of your faithful.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 44
1 [For the choirmaster Of the sons of Korah Poem] God, we have heard for ourselves, our ancestors have told us, of the deeds you did in their days, in days of old,
2 by your hand. To establish them in the land you drove out nations, to make room for them you harried peoples.
3 It was not their own sword that won the land, nor their own arms which made them victorious, but your hand it was and your arm, and the light of your presence, for you loved them.
4 You are my king, my God, who decreed Jacob’s victories;
5 through you we conquered our opponents, in your name we trampled down those who rose up against us.
6 For my trust was not in my bow, my victory was not won by my sword;
7 it was you who saved us from our opponents, you who put to shame those who hate us.
8 Our boast was always of God, we praised your name without ceasing.Pause
9 Yet now you have abandoned and humiliated us, you no longer take the field with our armies,
10 you leave us to fall back before the enemy, those who hate us plunder us at will.
11 You hand us over like sheep for slaughter, you scatter us among the nations,
12 you sell your people for a trifle and make no profit on the sale.
13 You make us the butt of our neighbours, the mockery and scorn of those around us,
14 you make us a by-word among nations, other peoples shake their heads over us.
15 All day long I brood on my disgrace, the shame written clear on my face,
16 from the sound of insult and abuse, from the sight of hatred and vengefulness.
17 All this has befallen us though we had not forgotten you, nor been disloyal to your covenant,
18 our hearts never turning away, our feet never straying from your path.
19 Yet you have crushed us in the place where jackals live, and immersed us in shadow dark as death.
20 Had we forgotten the name of our God and stretched out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God have found this out, for he knows the secrets of the heart?
22 For your sake we are being massacred all day long, treated as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Wake, Lord! Why are you asleep? Awake! Do not abandon us for good.
24 Why do you turn your face away, forgetting that we are poor and harrassed?
25 For we are bowed down to the dust, and lie prone on the ground.
26 Arise! Come to our help! Ransom us, as your faithful love demands.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Genesis 14:1-24
1 When Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedor-Laomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of the Goiim,
2 made war on Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar),
3 all the latter joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (now the Salt Sea).
4 For twelve years they had been under the yoke of Chedor-Laomer, but in the thirteenth year they revolted.
5 In the fourteenth year Chedor-Laomer arrived and the kings who had allied themselves with him. They defeated the Rephaim at Ashteroth-Carnaim, the Zuzim at Ham, the Emim in the Plain of Kiriathaim,
6 the Horites in the mountainous district of Seir near El-Paran, which is on the edge of the desert.
7 Wheeling round, they came to the Spring of Judgement (that is, Kadesh); they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites and also the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-Tamar.
8 Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and engaged them in the Valley of Siddim:
9 Chedor-Laomer king of Elam, Tidal king of the Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar: four kings against five.
10 Now there were many bitumen wells in the Valley of Siddim, and in their flight the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fell into them, while the rest fled into the hills.
11 The conquerors seized all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and made off.
12 They also took Lot (the nephew of Abram) and his possessions and made off; he had been living at Sodom.
13 A survivor came to tell Abram, and Aner the Hebrew, who was living at the Oak of the Amorite Mamre, the brother of Eshcol; these were allies of Abram.
14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he mustered his retainers born in his own household, numbering three hundred and eighteen, and gave chase as far as Dan.
15 He and his retainers deployed against them under cover of dark, defeated them and pursued them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.
16 He recaptured all the goods as well as his kinsman Lot and his possessions, together with the women and people.
17 When Abram returned from defeating Chedor-Laomer and the kings who had been on his side, the king of Sodom came to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the Valley of the King).
18 Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High.
19 He pronounced this blessing: Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High for putting your enemies into your clutches.
20 And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, ‘Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.’
22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, ‘I swear by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth:
23 not one thread, not one sandal strap, will I take of what is yours, for you to be able to say, “I made Abram rich.”
24 For myself, nothing — except what the troops have used up, and the share due to the men who came with me, Eshcol, Aner and Mamre; let them take their share.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
Hebrews 8:1-13
1 The principal point of all that we have said is that we have a high priest of exactly this kind. He has taken his seat at the right of the throne of divine Majesty in the heavens,
2 and he is the minister of the sanctuary and of the true Tent which the Lord, and not any man, set up.
3 Every high priest is constituted to offer gifts and sacrifices, and so this one too must have something to offer.
4 In fact, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are others who make the offerings laid down by the Law,
5 though these maintain the service only of a model or a reflection of the heavenly realities; just as Moses, when he had the Tent to build, was warned by God who said: See that you work to the design that was shown you on the mountain.
6 As it is, he has been given a ministry as far superior as is the covenant of which he is the mediator, which is founded on better promises.
7 If that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no room for a second one to replace it.
8 And in fact God does find fault with them; he says: Look, the days are coming, the Lord declares, when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah,
9 but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors, the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of Egypt, which covenant of mine they broke, and I too abandoned them, the Lord declares.
10 No, this is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel, when those days have come, the Lord declares: In their minds I shall plant my laws writing them on their hearts. Then I shall be their God, and they shall be my people.
11 There will be no further need for each to teach his neighbour, and each his brother, saying ‘Learn to know the Lord!’ No, they will all know me, from the least to the greatest,
12 since I shall forgive their guilt and never more call their sins to mind.
13 By speaking of a new covenant, he implies that the first one is old. And anything old and ageing is ready to disappear.(New Jerusalem Bible)
John 4:43-54
43 When the two days were over Jesus left for Galilee.
44 He himself had declared that a prophet is not honoured in his own home town.
45 On his arrival the Galileans received him well, having seen all that he had done at Jerusalem during the festival which they too had attended.
46 He went again to Cana in Galilee, where he had changed the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum;
47 hearing that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judaea, he went and asked him to come and cure his son, as he was at the point of death.
48 Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you see signs and portents you will not believe!’
49 ‘Sir,’ answered the official, ‘come down before my child dies.’
50 ‘Go home,’ said Jesus, ‘your son will live.’ The man believed what Jesus had said and went on his way home;
51 and while he was still on the way his servants met him with the news that his boy was alive.
52 He asked them when the boy had begun to recover. They replied, ‘The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.’
53 The father realised that this was exactly the time when Jesus had said, ‘Your son will live’; and he and all his household believed.
54 This new sign, the second, Jesus performed on his return from Judaea to Galilee.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Phillips Brooks:
Psalm 33:1-5,20-21
1 Shout for joy, you upright; praise comes well from the honest.
2 Give thanks to Yahweh on the lyre, play for him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song, make sweet music for your cry of victory.
4 The word of Yahweh is straightforward, all he does springs from his constancy.
5 He loves uprightness and justice; the faithful love of Yahweh fills the earth.
20 We are waiting for Yahweh; he is our help and our shield,
21 for in him our heart rejoices, in his holy name we trust.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Jonah 3:1-10
1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to Jonah a second time.
2 ‘Up!’ he said, ‘Go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach to it as I shall tell you.’
3 Jonah set out and went to Nineveh in obedience to the word of Yahweh. Now Nineveh was a city great beyond compare; to cross it took three days.
4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city and then proclaimed, ‘Only forty days more and Nineveh will be overthrown.’
5 And the people of Nineveh believed in God; they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least.
6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth and sat down in ashes.
7 He then had it proclaimed throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his nobles, as follows: ‘No person or animal, herd or flock, may eat anything; they may not graze, they may not drink any water.
8 All must put on sackcloth and call on God with all their might; and let everyone renounce his evil ways and violent behaviour.
9 Who knows? Perhaps God will change his mind and relent and renounce his burning wrath, so that we shall not perish.’
10 God saw their efforts to renounce their evil ways. And God relented about the disaster which he had threatened to bring on them, and did not bring it.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Ephesians 3:14-21
14 This, then, is what I pray, kneeling before the Father,
15 from whom every fatherhood, in heaven or on earth, takes its name.
16 In the abundance of his glory may he, through his Spirit, enable you to grow firm in power with regard to your inner self,
17 so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love,
18 with all God’s holy people you will have the strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth;
19 so that, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond knowledge, you may be filled with the utter fullness of God.
20 Glory be to him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine;
21 glory be to him from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Matthew 24:24-27
24 for false Christs and false prophets will arise and provide great signs and portents, enough to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
25 Look! I have given you warning.
26 ‘If, then, they say to you, “Look, he is in the desert,” do not go there; “Look, he is in some hiding place,” do not believe it;
27 because the coming of the Son of man will be like lightning striking in the east and flashing far into the west.(New Jerusalem Bible)
2 Samuel 5:1-7,10
1 All the tribes of Israel then came to David at Hebron and said, ‘Look, we are your own flesh and bone.
2 In days past when Saul was our king, it was you who led Israel on its campaigns, and to you it was that Yahweh promised, “You are to shepherd my people Israel and be leader of Israel.” ‘
3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a pact with them in Yahweh’s presence at Hebron, and they anointed David as king of Israel.
4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty years.
5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months; then he reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.
6 The king and his men then marched on Jerusalem, on the Jebusites living in the territory. These said to David, ‘You will not get in here. The blind and the lame will hold you off.’ (That is to say: David will never get in here.)
7 But David captured the citadel of Zion, that is, the City of Davi
10 David grew stronger and stronger, and Yahweh, God of Sabaoth, was with him.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 89:19-28
19 Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful you said: ‘I have given strength to a warrior, I have raised up a man chosen from my people.
20 ‘I have found David my servant, and anointed him with my holy oil.
21 My hand will always be with him, my arm will make him strong.
22 ‘No enemy will be able to outwit him, no wicked man overcome him;
23 I shall crush his enemies before him, strike his opponents dead.
24 ‘My constancy and faithful love will be with him, in my name his strength will be triumphant.
25 I shall establish his power over the sea, his dominion over the rivers.
26 ‘He will cry to me, “You are my father, my God, the rock of my salvation!”
27 So I shall make him my first-born, the highest of earthly kings.
28 ‘I shall maintain my faithful love for him always, my covenant with him will stay firm.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Mark 3:19b-30
19 and Judas Iscariot, the man who was to betray him.
20 He went home again, and once more such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal.
21 When his relations heard of this, they set out to take charge of him; they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’
22 The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘Beelzebul is in him,’ and, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he drives devils out.’
23 So he called them to him and spoke to them in parables,
24 ‘How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last.
25 And if a household is divided against itself, that household can never last.
26 Now if Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he cannot last either — it is the end of him.
27 But no one can make his way into a strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he has first tied up the strong man. Only then can he plunder his house.
28 ‘In truth I tell you, all human sins will be forgiven, and all the blasphemies ever uttered;
29 but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin.’
30 This was because they were saying, ‘There is an unclean spirit in him.’(New Jerusalem Bible)

Monday, 23 January 2012
Monday of the Third week in Ordinary Time
Saint(s) of the day:St John the Almoner, Patriarch of Alexandria (+ c. 620)
Commentary of the day:
Isaac of Stella (?-c.1171), Cistercian monk
Sermon 39, 2-6; SC 207
«Envy: a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit»
«It is by Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils»… It is the characteristic of evildoers, stirred by envy, to shut their eyes as much as they can to other people’s merits and when, overcome by the evidence, they cannot do so any longer, to depreciate or undervalue it. Thus, when the crowd rejoiced in devotion and marvelled at the sight of Christ’s works, the scribes and Pharisees either closed their eyes to what they knew to be true, or brought down what is great, or undervalued what is good. Once, for example, feigning ignorance, they said to him who had worked so many wonderful signs: «What sign can you do that we may believe in you?» (Jn 6,30). In this case, unable to blatantly deny the facts, they wickedly depreciate them…, and they devalue them by saying: «It is by Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils».
Now this, dear brethren, is the blasphemy against the Spirit that binds all those he has seized with the bonds of an eternal sin. This is not to say that it would be impossible for the repentant to gain forgiveness for it all if he «produces fruit as evidence of his repentance» (Lk 3,8). The only thing is that, crushed beneath such a weight of malice, he lacks the strength to reach out to that honorable repentance that isworthy of forgiveness… He who, perceiving the proofs of grace and the Holy Spirit’s working in his brother…, is not afraid to undermine and calumniate and brashly ascribe to the evil spirit what he clearly knows to be of the Holy Spirit: such a one has been so forsaken by this Spirit of grace that he no longer desires the repentance that would obtain his pardon. He is completely in the dark, blinded by his own malice. Indeed, what could be more serious than to dare, out of envy for the brother one had been commanded to love as oneself (Mt 19,19), to blaspheme God’s goodness… and insult his majesty by wanting to discredit a man?

1st Thought for Today:
My Utmost for His HIghest
Reading for Monday 23rd January 2012
TRANSFORMED BY INSIGHT by Oswald Chambers
We all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image.(2 Corinthians 3:18)
The outstanding characteristic of a Christian is this unveiled frankness before God so that the life becomes a mirror for other lives. By being filled with the Spirit we are transformed, and by beholding we become mirrors. You always know when a man has been beholding the glory of the Lord, you feel in your inner spirit that he is the mirror of the Lord’s own character. Beware of anything which would sully that mirror in you; it is nearly always a good thing, the good that is not the best.
The golden rule for your life and mine is this concentrated keeping of the life open towards God. Let everything else – work, clothes, food, everything on earth – go by the board, saving that one thing. The rush of other things always tends to obscure this concentration on God. We have to maintain ourselves in the place of beholding, keeping the life absolutely spiritual all through. Let other things come and go as they may, let other people criticize as they will, but never allow anything to obscure the life that is hid with Christ in God. Never be hurried out of the relationship of abiding in Him. It is the one thing that is apt to fluctuate but it ought not to. The severest discipline of a Christian’s life is to learn how to keep “beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord.”

Reflecting God-Cleaner Than Clean
Monday, January 23, 2012
Scripture-Psalm 51:1-9
1 [For the choirmaster Of David When the prophet Nathan had come to him because he had gone to Bathsheba] Have mercy on me, O God, in your faithful love, in your great tenderness wipe away my offences;
2 wash me clean from my guilt, purify me from my sin.
3 For I am well aware of my offences, my sin is constantly in mind.
4 Against you, you alone, I have sinned, I have done what you see to be wrong, that you may show your saving justice when you pass sentence, and your victory may appear when you give judgement,
5 remember, I was born guilty, a sinner from the moment of conception.
6 But you delight in sincerity of heart, and in secret you teach me wisdom.
7 Purify me with hyssop till I am clean, wash me till I am whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness, and the bones you have crushed will dance.
9 Turn away your face from my sins, and wipe away all my guilt.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Cleaner Than Clean by Gerald Crispin
Have you ever seen something cleaned so thoroughly that it shines like fresh snow in the sun? That was what David desired after being confronted by the Prophet Nathan, the light of God’s truth had revealed the ugly stain of his sin. He felt dirty. Not only had he committed adultery with Bathsheba, but as king he had put her husband in a position to be killed.
In Psalm 51, David calls out to God after being confronted and corrected. David has a deep desire to be cleansed of his sins; he knows all the baths in the entire world won’t wash his sin away. He begins the psalm by asking God for mercy and then acknowledges what he has done. He expresses in vivid detail just how much he wants to be cleansed; by asking to be made whiter than anything else he has seen on earth–snow. I’ve lived in Colorado and I can affirm that there is nothing whiter!
When we mess up (and we will mess up), let us take a lesson from David. Let’s fall on God’s mercy, ask to be forgiven, and seek to be cleansed and made cleaner than clean! Whiter than snow!
Hymn for Today:
“Cleanse Me” by J. Edgar Orr
1. Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray:
See if there be some wicked way in me:
Cleanse me from ev’ry sin, and set me free.
2. I Praise Thee Lord. for cleansing me from sin:
Fulfill Thy Word, and make me pure within;
Fill me with fire, where once I burned with shame:
Grant my desire to magnify Thy name.
3. Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine:
Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine;
Take all my will, my passion, self and pride;
I now surrender: Lord in me abide.
4. O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee:
Send a revival start the work in me:
Thy Word declares Thou wilt supply our need:
For blessing now, O Lord, I humbly plead.
2nd Thought for Today:
“Only repentance clears the way for Messiah’s entrance into our lives. There is no other way to prepare to meet God”(Gay Leonard and Debbie Goodwin)
Prayer Needs:
Many people in Switzerland will come to know Christ and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Alban Weekly for Monday, January 23, 2012
Gone Fishing by Beverly A. Thompson , George B. Thompson, Jr.
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.(John 21:4–6)
We should not be surprised.
In the midst of grief and anxiety, not to mention a life-changing transition, the disciples headed back to a place that felt normal, natural, familiar, and safe. Little did they know what was in store for them. When all else failed, these guys knew how to fish. They had fished for a living for years. Then one day, this Jesus had called them to follow him, and they dropped their nets and left behind the life they had known.
For hours, these dejected former members of a religious movement gone bad—and then strangely good again—cast their nets to no avail. There were no fish to be caught, just more frustration—until, unexpectedly, a familiar voice urged them to fish from the boat’s other side. They listened to that voice and did just what was asked of them. Then, before they knew it, they had caught loads of fish. Their nets filled to the brim, they joined the One whose voice they had trusted, Jesus. Gathered around that small fire on the beach, they shared a meal with him—a meal they would never forget. Once again, nothing was as they thought: It was deeper, richer, and life-changing.
All too often, congregations that find themselves in the in-between time of a transition do exactly what the disciples did: They go back to whatever they were doing before the crisis presented itself. This strategy worked out well for the disciples in this story—but only because Jesus was there waiting for them, offering them one more chance to understand who he was and the new thing he was calling them to do.
Just like the people in our congregations today, the disciples were part of a faith community that existed within a larger culture. As experienced fishermen, they knew how to function in the fishing-based culture that existed around the Sea of Galilee. They knew what to do, how to do it, and what kinds of techniques might catch different fish. But after leaving their nets behind to follow Jesus, they had become part of the unique community of disciples that arose around their Savior. Being with him had affected their particular culture, but now they found themselves living in between.
This thing we call “culture” is the thread, the deep stream, that connects persons within any group, organization, or community. For this purpose, we will focus on the culture created within communities of faith. Every congregation has its own unique culture. It consists of your congregation’s own particular set of behaviors, values, and norms, and it emerges as a group of people work together toward a common purpose over a period of time.
Especially in times of transition, looking at your church through a cultural lens will help you get a grasp on what is really going on within you. You will gain a greater understanding of your congregation as the complex, culture-creating, and culture-bearing groups that it is. From there, you can begin to figure out what decisions and actions will serve your purposes more effectively.
Look around the lake, pond, river, or seaside where you like to fish. What do you see there? Now consider what you see on the “shoreline” of your church as you arrive on any given Sunday. Try to imagine how you would view it as a first-time visitor. What do you see as you wade into the waters of your church? In short, what makes your church different from or the same as other churches around you?
All the little details, along with everything else that could be seen or observed, make up the first level of your church’s culture. It is the level called “artifacts.” This level contains the most obvious and observable details of a culture. However, just because this level of culture is easy to see doesn’t mean it’s always clearly understood. Appearances can be misleading. Artifacts might look the same from one church to the next, but you will soon discover they do not always mean what you might think.
Peering a little more deeply into the water, you will begin to notice some other things beneath the surface. This second level of culture is called “espoused values,” because it is here where we find statements that express the church’s ideals. These statements, which can be spoken or written, offer the church’s explanation for the artifacts we see on the church’s cultural shore. Espoused values are formal positive expressions of a congregation’s beliefs about who they are and what is important.
Espoused values simply tell us what sounds positive—which, in itself, is not bad. Espoused values are like the reflection we can see in the water itself. The image we glimpse there can be helpful in understanding a congregation. But be careful! What you see and hear in a church’s espoused values never provides a complete or fully accurate picture of that congregation or its culture. To get the full picture, we need to look even more closely.
Congregations typically do not pay attention to the whole story of who they are. However, as you learn to take notice of the culture of your church, you will be more prepared for (and less surprised and confounded by) the things that float up on your shore.
You can begin your fishing expedition by asking a few church members a couple of questions about why they prefer this church to other churches. The answers you hear will be espoused values. The words are true to some extent. But the responses to such direct questions tend to represent what the folks you ask want to believe about themselves and their church. Usually, the answers you get are more about sounding good than helping you understand more deeply what is going on. It is not that folks don’t want to tell you the truth; it is much more that what you can discover in the deepest level is not directly on the church’s radar.
Pastors often don’t realize that churches can run into trouble when they pay attention only to espoused values and artifacts. More often than not, what you see is not what you get. Churches say they want pastors to do a certain thing, to take on some pet church project. All too often, the pastor discovers that when she or he does just that, the church’s apple-cart is toppled and chaos begins to take over.
You can learn to anticipate this kind of potential pitfall. Once you begin the process of discovering more about your culture, you learn to appreciate its richness. There is more to what you see on the shore, or even hear spoken aloud, than meets the eye.
As your fishing line begins to drop deeper into the waters, you may sometimes seem to get caught on something. Those things that seem to anchor the pond, lake, or ocean are the “submerged beliefs.” This is the third level of church culture, the place where your congregation’s energy rests. Even though its particular elements have been “down there” for a while, this third level is rarely noticed or acknowledged, so its various elements are seldom, if ever, spoken aloud. Yet, in order for the fish to thrive in this body of water, their life must be supported and nourished by what is deep below the surface.
It is still not common for most people to think about the lives of our faith communities in terms of culture—especially as we dig below the level of things that are observable (artifacts) and desirable (espoused values). Yet benign ignorance will not help your church during its in-between times! There is more energy within your congregation than you realize. Learning how to understand the complex character of this energy is one crucial way to help your church in the long run.
The story of Jesus helping his old friends catch fish offers a charming yet telling image of congregations in transition. When things get difficult, we may be tempted, just as the disciples were, to revert back to what we used to do. It is all too easy to be misled by what appears to be floating on the surface. Artifacts and espoused values never tell the whole story. Your church needs to find a way to “cast its net” to another side of the boat.
If you want to understand your church’s particular culture, you will learn to engage this process of cultural “fishing.” You will want to gather a small, dedicated group of members who are committed to this honest discovery. This group should include longtime members who are “key culture bearers,”as well as some newer, active members too. This fishing expedition takes commitment, hope, and “a sense of urgency.”
The question with which you will want to live is simple: “What will happen to our church if we keep on doing what we have done over and over again?” The time you spend together in this discovery process will affect the road taken during your journey of transition.
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Adapted from Grace for the Journey: Practices and Possibilities for In-Between Times by Beverly A. Thompson and George B. Thompson, Jr., copyright © 2011 by the Alban Institute. All rights reserved.
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The Upper Room Daily Devotional
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Painful Truth
Suggested Bible Reading:
Read James 1:18-25
18 By his own choice he gave birth to us by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all his creation.
19 Remember this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow to human anger;
20 God’s saving justice is never served by human anger;
21 so do away with all impurities and remnants of evil. Humbly welcome the Word which has been planted in you and can save your souls.
22 But you must do what the Word tells you and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves.
23 Anyone who listens to the Word and takes no action is like someone who looks at his own features in a mirror and,
24 once he has seen what he looks like, goes off and immediately forgets it.
25 But anyone who looks steadily at the perfect law of freedom and keeps to it — not listening and forgetting, but putting it into practice — will be blessed in every undertaking.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Today’s Scripture:
If any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror . . . and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.(James 1:23-24 (NRSV))
Today’s Devotional
When my dad was a young man, someone said to him, “You know, you never give a compliment or say anything good about others.” These words devastated him, but their truth also changed him. He became an affirming, caring, and expressive man because he was able to listen and willing to change.
Generally, we do not like people who tell us the hard truth about ourselves. Today Abraham Lincoln may be revered as one of our greatest U.S. presidents, but during his lifetime his speaking painful truths got him vilified and hated by many. Martin Luther King, Jr. told the hard truth about racism and segregation, and some people hated him for it. Nelson Mandela was thrown into prison for his prophetic stance on apartheid. If Isaiah or Jeremiah or Amos were living today and said what he did back then, we probably wouldn’t admire him as we do now. This is the nature of painful truth; it looks better in retrospect.
After centuries or even decades, it’s easier to fool ourselves into thinking that a message wasn’t intended for us than to act on it. But if we listen to God’s words today and apply them to ourselves, God will help us to change. by Dan G. Johnson (Florida, USA)
3rd Thought for the Day: Join — or start — a Christian accountability group. See www.upperroom.org.
Prayer: Dear God, help us to listen closely to your words in the Bible — and to change. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Friends who tell me the truth
The scripture quotation, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2012 by The Upper Room, a ministry of GBOD. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or redistribute without written permission from the publisher.

Daily Meditation: Wisdom — January 23, 2012
Center for Action and Contemplation
WISDOM
“Wisdom is a spirit, a friend to all.”(Wisdom 1:6)
It is usually over time and with patience that we come to see the wonderful patterns of grace, which is why it takes most of us a long time to be converted. Our focus slowly moves from an initial preoccupation with perfect actions (“first half of life” issues), to naked presence itself. The code word for that is simply “prayer,” but it became cheapened by misuse.
Jesus will often call prayer “vigilance,” “seeing,” or “being awake.” When you are aware and awakened, you will know for yourself all that you need to know. In fact, “Stay awake” is the last thing Jesus says to the apostles—three or perhaps four times—before he is taken away to be killed (Matthew 26:38-45). Finally, continuing to find them asleep, he kindly but sadly says, “Sleep now and take your rest,” which might have been his resigned forgiving statement to the church itself.
It is not that we do not want to be awake; but very few teachers have actually told us how to do that in a very practical way. We call it the teaching of “contemplation.” Adapted from Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, p. 16
Starter Prayer:
Grant me wisdom. by Father Richard Rohr

4th Thought for Today:
Monday January 23, 2012
Community, a Quality of the Heart
The word community has many connotations, some positive, some negative. Community can make us think of a safe togetherness, shared meals, common goals, and joyful celebrations. It also can call forth images of sectarian exclusivity, in-group language, self-satisfied isolation, and romantic naiveté. However, community is first of all a quality of the heart. It grows from the spiritual knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves but for one another. Community is the fruit of our capacity to make the interests of others more important than our own (see Philippians 2:4). The question, therefore, is not “How can we make community?” but “How can we develop and nurture giving hearts?” by Henri J. M. Nouwen

5th Thought for Today:
Monday 23 January 2012
Entering a New Age
We are entering in a totally new age where either we’re going to move into universalism and a quest for greater love–love that needs to discover one’s culture, to discover one’s language, to be proud of culture, to love one’s culture but to be open to other people’s culture, and this has to do with welcoming difference. by Jean Vanier
Belonging: The Search for Acceptance
Windborne Production Video

1.23.12 – “…but they weren’t embarrassed” from The Church of the Resurrection-United Methodist in Leawood, Kansas, United States
Daily Scripture: Genesis 2:18 “Yahweh God said, ‘It is not right that the man should be alone. I shall make him a helper.’
19 So from the soil Yahweh God fashioned all the wild animals and all the birds of heaven. These he brought to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to bear the name the man would give it.
20 The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild animals. But no helper suitable for the man was found for him.
21 Then, Yahweh God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And, while he was asleep, he took one of his ribs and closed the flesh up again forthwith.
22 Yahweh God fashioned the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man.
23 And the man said: This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh! She is to be called Woman, because she was taken from Man.
24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife, and they become one flesh.
25 Now, both of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they felt no shame before each other.”(New Jerusalem Bible)
Reflection Questions:
“The two of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they weren’t embarrassed,” Genesis said of human innocence. In Genesis 3, that changed at once when Adam and Eve abandoned God’s way. Distrustful and alienated, they covered themselves, and hid from God (Gen. 3:7-10). God’s original intent for our sexuality, said Genesis, was the delight and bonding of chapter 2.
In 1706, Matthew Henry wrote that Eve was “Not made out of his [Adam's] head to top him, not out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.” What does this archetypal story tell you about the intended quality of romantic relationships?
In Genesis 1, we read that all that God made was “very good.” Then, startlingly, we find that “It’s NOT GOOD that the human is alone.” What timeless principles do you see in this story that apply to married or single, male or female? How did the man’s joy as he met his partner speak to what God wanted sexual attraction to do for relationships?
Weekly Prayer:
Lord God, “a man embraces his wife, and they become one flesh”? Wow—Genesis said the first human couple were really strongly attracted to each other! Sometimes I have that sense, too, but so many things (grief, illness, betrayal, unresolved childhood hurts, even just human brokenness in one or both partners) can go wrong. This week, teach me about the joy, bonding and sharing of life that “good sex,” sex as you intend it to be, can bring to our lives. Amen.
Monday 1.23.12 Insight from Rev. Andrew Conard
Rev. Andrew Conard is a Christian, husband, father, son, brother, friend, United Methodist and also Associate Pastor at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection West.
The story of the creation of the man and his wife is beautiful. I appreciated the quote from the GPS today that made the connection between the story of creation and some of the key qualities of romantic relationships – equality, protection and love. These are important qualities of committed relationships and are an inherent part of who we were created to be as humans. We are created to be in relationship with one another and God. This is one of the timeless principles that I see in this passage. Despite being originally created for healthy relationship, there are times when we mess up and break these connections. The good news is that whether it is with God or with one another we have the opportunity to recognize that we have done wrong and to be forgiven. I am grateful for this truth.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

Sermon for Today:
The Power of an Uncertain Future by Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)
“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the
hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”(Matthew 25:13)
Jesus spoke these words at the close of the Parable of the Ten Virgins. The people were still under the impression that the parable had made upon them. It is the air of expectancy that pervades it which gives the parable its character. It all looks forward. It is busied with the future, not the past. The waiting virgins, the sleepless eyes, the well-filled lamps, and then the hurried stir, the rustling garments, the passing voices, and the opening and closing doors, as all the movement is expectant, and is full of one idea : Be ready, for a future is coming. With new issues -new destinies and new duties. Forget the past ! Look forward !
That is the tone of the parable, and it is the tone of the Gospel always. Stretching out into an infinite distance, it shows the endless future of human life. It lays its hand upon every soul that is asleep and says, “Wake, for your work is not done yet.” New developments of truth, new perfections of character, and infinite plans of God in which we are to take part, and these are the burden of the Gospel, and of the spirit of these the Parable of the Ten Virgins is full. It is all alive with expectancy. It is a parable of the Future. ” Behold the Bridegroom cometh! “
There are times, I think, when this character of the Gospel seems hard and almost cruel to us. There are times when the thought of expectancy is oppressive. Sometimes the soul is simply weary, and wants to lie down and go no farther. It seems to have done enough, to have lived enough. There is much in the past which is precious to it, but the thought of going on and making new history for itself is dreadful to it. Life seems behind it. To turn and see that life is yet before it seems very hard. But always the Gospel keeps its character. It will allow no resting in the past or in the present. It is always holding up its future and insisting that its disciples should live in ” the power of an endless life.”
But this verse of warning which comes at the end of the parable has one special point. It brings out one kind of power in the anticipations of the future which is very striking. Watch, Jesus says, not merely because there is to be a future, but because you cannot know what the future is. Watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Here is a sort of life enjoined of watchfulness. I hope we shall see clearly enough before we are done that watchfulness is not a single act, nor a special habit, but a whole new character of a man’s life. And this character of a whole life is represented as coming out of the fact that the future of the life is uncertain. There is one sort of life that a man will live who anticipates no future at all, who lives wholly in the present. There is another sort of life for the man whose future is all clear before him, all ticketed and dated. There is yet another life for the man who knows that larger and stranger things are coming than he comprehends, who expects surprises. I want to speak of this last kind of life. Our subject is “The Power of an Uncertain Future.” Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”
We have one illustration of our subject always before us in the life of childhood. I suppose that it would not be possible to get a better idea of what Jesus meant by the watchfulness that would become the character of one who was always looking for His undated coming, than we should have if we could understand perfectly the strong and subtle influence which the uncertainty and apparent infiniteness of the life before him has upon a child. The alertness, the receptivity, the modesty, the eagerness and easy enlargement or readiness for great things, which belong to the best childhood, seem to me to be the very qualities which the Gospel is always trying to make in Christians, and all these qualities belong essentially to the uncertainty with which a child’s future hovers before his eyes. If you could take a very high average of human attainment, something considerably beyond what the majority of men have reached, and fix that as the uniform level of men’s accomplishment, if you could decree absolutely that every life should go just as far as that and no life should go any farther, you certainly would have taken the spring out of the ambition of very many young aspiring souls. You would have taken away the uncertainty, and so you would have destroyed the romance and attractiveness. Probably not half of them will reach that line, but probably those who do reach it will go beyond it if you do not set them a limit there, but leave them all infinity to aspire into. One will certainly shoot his arrows higher if he shoots them out-of-doors, with all the sky to shoot them into, than if he sends them up against the ceiling of a room that seems just as high as he can reach.
And so it is the child’s uncertainty about his life that gives it all those characteristics that I spoke of. He does not know which way it will go. It is full of wonderment. Every door tempts him to open it, to see what lies beyond. Every corner tempts him to turn it. And so, just as you or I, going to Paris or London, will walk more in a day than any Londoner or Parisian in three, because our curiosity is always kept alive by the uncertain- ties of the unfamiliar streets, and so the child will make more character in a week than we grown people will in months, because life, not having yet hardened itself into routines and certainties, is always vividly interesting to him and is always enticing him a little farther on.
There must be grown men, old men, here today who look back to nothing with such wistful longing as to the interest that life had for them when they were children. Can it be, indeed, that this dull and faded thing is the same that once flashed and sparkled with such bewitching colors? Living has disenchanted them with life. And if they look into it they will see that what has gone out of life is simply its uncertainty. They have solved all the problems. They have opened all the closets. Once, when they got up in the morning, they wondered what they would do that day; they thought of a thousand things that might happen before the sun went down. Now, they know just what will happen and just what they will do at every hour of the day. Once each New Year’s day was a pinnacle on which they stood and looked out into an enticing splendor of vague possibilities. Now, on New Year’s day they balance their books, and, presuming that they will make and spend about the same amount of money in the next year as in the last, settle down to the dull content of a certain competence. So the interest of life, you see, depends upon its uncertain futures. It will not do to solve the problems of life, unless in solving them you open new ones. If you can do that, then you can keep the interest of living. If you can open a new prospect, with all the splendor of vague distance about It, yet farther on, then you can afford to go over And examine in detail and so lose the romantic beauty of the prospect that has already opened to you.
My dear friends, all this seems to me to lead to very serious truth. It seems to me to show that life is certain to become dull and uninteresting and weary to an old man, to every man as he grows old, unless some future beyond life opens before him, which shall be to his old age all that the yet un-tried life was to his boyish dreams. The boy dreamed of the infiniteness of life, and there was color in his cheek and brightness in his eye and a dewy freshness in everything he said and did. That is all gone with you, perhaps gone so far back that it seems as remote as the book of Genesis when something calls it back to you. Is there any possible thing that can replace it for you? Only that opening of another future, with new uncertainties, which has turned many an old man into a child again as he stood at the gateway of the Everlasting Life. When this life is exhausted, when its crooked streets have all been trodden to the end, still the interest need not have gone out of living if only from the hilltop of experience new and untrodden ways can open themselves before us, rolling on into the mystery of eternity. Then one may die with as true vitality, as eager curiosity, as he has ever lived. To him the interest of life is still preserved, as alone it can be preserved, by the power of an uncertain future.
There are some touching instances of this feeling that an unknown future is necessary to any real pleasurable interest in living. Have you never heard people ask one another whether they would be willing to live their lives over again, and has it not sometimes seemed sad to see how almost everybody said “No” almost with a shudder, as if the idea was almost dreadful to him? It is not really that men’s lives have been so unhappy, so that is not why they would dread a repetition so. There have been portions of their lives that they would dread. There are places, if we had to live our lives over again just as we have lived them, where we should set our teeth in grim misery as we came in sight of the old blunder or the terrible catastrophe which we had almost forgotten; but on the whole there has been more of happiness than wretchedness in all our lives. But the main reason why people shudder when you ask them to live their lives again is that the proposition seems to them so utterly dreary. A life with no surprises! A life where you knew just what was coming! There is no succession of terrible blows that can fall upon a man that could begin to be so wretched as the dulness of such a life would be.
Or take another question: You ask yourself, ‘ Would I have lived my life, if I had known at the outset just what it was to be? If all the picture could have been set before my baby-brain, would my baby-hands have been reached out to welcome it, or would they have thrust it impatiently away?” I am afraid there are a good many people here who, either from general temper or from some temporary mood that they are in, would think the answer to that question only too plain. “Never!” they say. “Never would I have lived if I had known beforehand what life was! ” And yet how good it is for these people that they have lived ! How much they have added to the world’s stock. How much happiness they themselves have had in spite of all. They have been tempted on, spared the worst misery of anticipation, and never wholly deserted by eagerness and hope, through the power of an uncertain future.
My dear friends, if we feel this, what can we say ? Is there one of us that dare complain of God because He keeps our futures uncertain ? Does it not put something like a reason underneath these endless changes by which our plans are always being broken up and our best hopes disappointed ? Is it good for a man to grow gloomy over that which is the only source of interest, hopefulness, and joy in life?
These words are very general; let us take our text somewhat more closely. This future in whose uncertainty the power resides is spoken of as the “day and hour wherein the Son of Man cometh,” So what day and hour is meant ? The Son of Man is Christ Himself. His coming is certainly not a time when He draws near to the world, for He is in the world always. It must be, then, some time or times in which His presence becomes manifest. Such comings there are several of. Men discuss which of them the text refers to, and whether to the final coming for judgment, the coming to every man at death, or the coming of the Spirit at a man’s conversion. Let us not try to settle which it means, but let us take all three. It is good for us; it cultivates the life called “watchfulness” within us, not to know when Christ is coming to judge the world, when He is going to call us to Himself by death, when He is coming by some great experience to our souls, and the unknown coming for judgment, the unknown time of death, the unknown spiritual experience.
I. Take first the coming of Christ to judge this world. Clearly the Bible tells of some such time. Clearly there is to be some close of the present state of things and some new dispensation, to begin with some peculiar manifestation of Christ to men. Forever in these chapters of the Bible runs the prophecy of the opened heaven and the Son of man sitting there throned among His angels. ” He Cometh, He cometh to judge the world, and the people with equity.” But yet the time is all uncertain. ” Of that day and hour knoweth no man.” Perhaps for cycles upon cycles yet this tangled web of forces may move on as it is moving now. Perhaps already the great wheels are trembling on the brink of stoppage. Science no more than revelation ventures to guess the time; though science, just like revelation, catches glimpses of the coming fact.
And then, when we ask what the effect of this uncertain future on the world’s character is, we are struck first of all by this, and that every attempt (and men have always with a strange persistency kept making their attempts) to fix what God has left uncertain has done harm and not good to those who made their guesses. Certainly such attempts have not helped the religion on which they tried to fasten themselves. The Apostles evidently, after Jesus had gone away, believed that He would come back while some of them were yet alive, but that was not the religion that inspired the zeal of Paul and John. Again, as the thousand years after Christ approached toward the end of the ninth century, you know there was a strange and widespread impression that when the thousand years were over, Jesus would come. The people waited. From many a housetop, as, in the night, one century gave the world over to the next, eyes must have watched the heavens for the coming Lord. But we do not find that such a confident expectancy made the world better. Certainly there were few centuries darker than the ninth, the century of wars among the nations, and gross corruption in the Church, and ignorance and misery in private life. Again, many of us are old enough to remember how, forty years ago, a vast number of our people believed that on a certain mentioned day the world would end and Christ the Judge appear; but certainly, among the multitudes who looked for such a crisis, no one ever heard that virtue or religion came to any wonderful development, that life was purer, holier, profounder, than among their unbelieving neighbors. Nor will the most enthusiastic supporter of any of the Millenarian theories that have attempted to tell what is to be the end of things with more or less exactness, venture to say that his theory has established for itself any right to be called necessary even to the highest Christian life.
No ; history shows us that where men have thought they knew the end, it has not been good for them. It is better that they should not know. And certainly we can see why. Can we not understand that the best culture for the world is just in that idea under which God has kept the world living, and the idea that all these things were temporary, and yet an entire ignorance as to the length of their endurance? If the world has been saved from entire sordidness, if its heart in every age has aspired after loftier things, if it has been able to keep in its remembrance that character was the one permanent thing, if thus it has been able to sacrifice other more manifest things to the invisible majesty of character, the reason in large part has been that in all ages men have believed that the time would come when all these things would pass away. The “eternal hills” were not eternal. The calm heavens were some day to part in fire, and the Judgment Day of the world to come. On the other hand, if the world of men, believing in the coming Judgment, has still worked on, toiled on the substance of this perishable earth as if it were imperishable, developed its resources and so made it a fitter instrument for their own development, it has been because no day for the catastrophe stared them in the face, paralyzing their healthy activity, and blighting their courage. To live in one’s work, and yet above one’s work, is what one needs. To be a servant of the earth, and yet superior to the earth, where it has been put by God, is the lesson that the human soul always has been learning; and that lesson it has been taught by the power of the world’s uncertain future.
I think it is just the way in which a wise parent treats his child during the preparatory years in which he lives still as a child under the parent’s roof. He lets him know that that home-life is temporary. He opens windows through which the boy can see the life that he must live for himself out in the world, when this first dispensation shall be over. And at the same time he draws no line, fixes no date, makes the child-life as real as it could be if it were to last forever. So God trains this world for the next. So He keeps Time full of solemn watchfulness for Eternity. So, in the ears of a humanity which is to be educated by the ministry of perishable things for those which are imperishable, He seems to be always uttering those unutterably solemn words: “Seeing that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God?”
If we can see much reason why the world should be left in ignorance about the time of Christ’s coming to be its Judge, we can understand even more of how good it is for every man not to know just when the word of the Lord will come to him, as it does come to every man, to call him out of this state of being to a higher. I suppose that we have all thought, sometimes, what differences it would make in all our life if we all knew from the beginning just when we were to be called to die. Certainly we do not know, men do not know themselves, how much the certainty that they must die some time influences and controls them. It is not often on their lips. It is not often consciously upon their hearts. But there is something in the life of every man that would be changed in a moment if he suddenly were made aware that he were to stay here upon the earth forever. We say sometimes that men live here just as if they never were to die; we think that all this hurrying crowd upon the street has utterly forgotten death and hurries on as if it were to pour up and down these thronged avenues forever; but it is not so. Every man has in his nature the influence of the fact that he always knows, though it is not always consciously before his mind.
The traveller in the city is always different from the citizen, though he has no time fixed for his departure, and even prolongs his visit to many years. So the pilgrim-and-stranger feeling is somewhere in all of us. It differs in us all. It is an awful sense of brooding mystery in some, a tireless and hurried energy in others, and in almost all it is a certain tenderness and dearness gathering about the earth which we are certainly some day to leave. But just consider what the consequences would be if this vague certainty were brought down and made definite, and each man knew from the beginning of his course just when to him would come the summons that no man can disobey.
The first thing that I think of is the great decrease of physical energy and work that it would probably make in the world if every man knew just when he was to die. One of the strongest springs of action among men is the desire for the preservation of their life, and perhaps it is the strongest spring of action. It is this, the desire to prolong their life. that has in large part broken up the forests and opened the mines and bridged the rivers and built the cities. This, in large part, is what one hears through all the clatter of the world’s machineries and the hoarse roar of business, and the personal desire for life. It is the clangor of the hammers with which men are building walls between themselves and death. This, too, is at the root of almost all our institutions: society, government, and they are all to secure men in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; and of these great ambitions life stands first and lies deepest of all.
And, then, consider how, in the uncertainty as to the time of death, every man’s labor lasts almost and some men’s last quite up to the time of death. Almost or quite up to the very last they still contribute to the wealth and progress of the world. No sight of the approaching end unmans their courage and makes them drop their tools before the time. Think, if you please, how many men, if they knew that their dying day was only one year off, would feel no spirit and no call to work during that year, the hope of self-preservation being definitely taken from them. And, then, think how much the world would have been robbed of, if all the labor that her millions of great and little workers have done within a year of the time when they were called away were taken out of the aggregate ; and we can see already some reason why the cloud is not lifted, and men walk on, working and living and hoping, up to the very door of the other life.
And when I think again, not of what the world would lose, but of what the character and culture of the men themselves would lose, if the day when they were to leave the earth were known to them from the day when they first entered on it, then it seems clearer still. You train your little child for all the duties of his manhood. From his very cradle the thought of ” when he is a man ” is before you as your inspiration and your guide. God takes your child, still in his childhood, to the higher education of the perfect world. The training for this life that you gave him, if it was really sound and true and godly, was the best training that he could have taken to the Eternal School; but could you have given it to him if you had known that he was to die so young, that he was never to mingle among men in all the ministries and competitions of the world?
Or, again, could a young man train himself to prudence, self-constraint, truth, and all the qualities that make the best successes of men’s middle-age, if he knew from the start that just upon the threshold of that middle-age the angel would touch him and he must go away? That eager student, would he have studied so if he had always known that his knowledge would never be used here, that with its new richness all about him he was to lie down and die? And then the happiness that comes to hearts that look forward into years of friendship, and could it have flowed in so abundantly and cloudlessly upon the soul if that soul had foreseen the coming separation? Still, indeed, there would be left the highest values of knowledge and the highest sources of happiness; still the student might have known that he could learn nothing that was really true, for which he would not be the richer in whatever world he lived; still the friend might twine bis friendship all the closer that it might be strong enough not to break even with the strain that carried it beyond the grave; but all the inferior sources of culture and happiness, which, though inferior, are pure, on which we all so much depend, must surely suffer no blight. Surely it is a good, kind God, a blessed Father, who lets us know that He is coming, but does not tell us when. We are like children off at school, to whom the father sends word that he will bring them home, that so they may study all the harder and be ready, but does not fix the day lest they should drop the books altogether and merely stand looking for him out of the window, wasting their time. God will bring the shortness of life home to all of us so as to make us say, “We will work the harder,” but He will not let it weigh upon any of us so as to set us thinking, ” It is not worth while to work.”
And we must think not merely of what such a certainty about the time of our death would take away from us, but also of what it would bring into our lives. It would set us all to preparing for death in a narrow and special sense. It is not good for a man to devote himself to preparation for dying. It is preparation for living that you need. When, in mediaeval times, men, feeling that death was near them, used to give up their work, lay down their arms, and, like the cloistered emperor, put on the cowl and go and live in monasteries, and nay, build their coffins and keep their epitaphs written on their cell-walls, as we know that it was a mere makeshift. It was better perhaps than nothing, but it was an attempt to crowd into a year or two what a whole lifetime should have done, to force by unnatural means that intimacy with the God to whom they
were to go which should have been healthily gathered out of the daily experiences of a long, devout, obedient life. You cannot so make the perfect friendship any more than you can make the lower friendship so. To take away the uncertainty about the time of death would have a tendency (which the best men would resist, but to which multitudes of men would yield) to give the bulk of life up to indifference and recklessness and crowd the last few months or days with an artificial religiousness that would have little power to prepare the soul for its great change. The only real way to ” Prepare to meet thy God ” is to live with thy God so that to meet Him shall be nothing strange.
So, surely, it is better for us as God has appointed it. So, surely, the picture of a faithful man, by every duty of his life preparing himself for the next duty, and so at last finding that living has prepared him for dying, and laying his life back into the hands of a Father in whose strength he has lived it all, and this is the highest illustration of the power of an uncertain future to influence and ripen and prepare us for more than we foresee.
And now, but little time remains for me to speak of the last of the three comings of the Son of Man. Christ comes to all last for judgment, Christ comes to each of us at death, but Christ comes also in the hour of conversion, when He claims a man for His servant and bids him take up his cross and follow Him. In the religion of our day, conversion is made a less prominent and separate moment in a man’s life than it used to be considered in the religion of other days. If this change means that all the life is recognized as being more full of God, and so lifted up nearer to the level of the conversion-hour, then it is well; but if it means that the supernatural power of the conversion itself is being disallowed, and so the whole life brought down to the level of every-day worldliness, then it is bad. All Christian experience bears witness that there are times when that Saviour who is always present and always seeking us makes Himself peculiarly manifest to our souls and asks us to be His. It may be in connection with some great outward change that comes to us ; or it may be something wholly of the inner life, unseen, unheard by any one beside ourselves; but do you not know that such times surely come? I speak to any servant of the Saviour here: Were there not days, perhaps years, when you went on in your own way, Christ by you always but you not seeing Him, Christ speaking to you and you not hearing Him? But at last there came a time when He looked on you with a new face and you did see Him; when He spoke to you with a new voice and you did hear Him! That is the time, be it a moment or a day or a year of a man’s conversion, the beginning of a new life. And now, can you not see that it makes a great difference whether that supreme meeting of your soul and God, which must come and which is fraught with such stupendous consequences, is to come at some fixed time, when you have reached some special age, when you are ready for some special study; or, on the other hand, whether it may come at any moment and at any moment between the solemn moment when you first find that you have a soul and that other solemn moment when you give your soul up to your Master and your Judge? If the first, then you may wait, wait unexpectantly until you hear Him coming. If the other, then any time in the ever-turning journey of life may bring you into sight of Him ; any sound close by your side may be His footstep. This next moment may be His moment to bless your soul. Nay, this moment, now may be His time, and you may be letting it pass just because you are not knowing that it may be any moment, and so are not listening every moment for the slightest indication of His coming.
More and more the law of the Christian life seems to me to be this — that Christ the Saviour comes to every man, and that they that are watching for Him and expecting Him know Him when He comes, and enter with Him into some higher life. ” They that were ready went in with Him to the marriage”; these words of the old parable tell the whole story. Ah! yes, as we look back over our life, how sudden always have been the comings of the Son of Man! We looked for Him off in some distance, and suddenly His voice spoke to us close at our side. Again we said to ourselves in some proud moment of self-exaltation, “Now He must be near me; now He will speak to me” but that proud, selfish moment has gone by, utterly cold and dead, without a sight or sound of Christ; and then, when we had just passed down off from the mountain where we hoped for so much, into a valley of humility where we expected nothing, and then everything around us has been radiant with His presence, and He has spoken to us words of wisdom and a Brother’s tenderest love. We have expected Him, and He has not come; we have forgotten Him, and He has been with us. The deepest experiences of our life have taken us unawares. In such an hour as we thought not the Son of Man has come.
Every man knows this of his life, and so what is the law of lite that it ought to make for us? It is not hard to see. It must be always useless to prepare oneself against this or that moment, to make up conditions for what we fancy are to be the most critical times of life. That is spasmodic and unreal. But to be so possessed with the conviction that God is around us always, and may show Himself to us in any commonest moment, that we are always alert and ready to receive Him, and that is the true condition of the soul. Sometimes from mere expectancy you may be deceived ; sometimes it may seem as if God spoke to you when it is only your own longing that He may speak that makes you think it is His voice; but I think it is better to be mistaken so a hundred times than once not to be ready, and so say, ” Oh, it is nothing!” when He really does Speak. It is better, after all, to be so superstitious that we find God where He is not, than to be so sceptical that we will not find Him where He is.
Have we not, then, come at the end to something like a clear tangible notion of what the watching is to which the Saviour urged His disciples long ago, and to which He still urges us? It is not an act, not a habit, but a character. It is a constant alertness of soul which, believing that Christ does come near to people, is determined that He shall not come near us and escape us because we are asleep. It has no plan for the future, and so is always ready to catch any intimation of His plan. It is profoundly conscious that the world is full of Him, and so is ready to hear His voice from any unexpected corner. It believes, just as those disciples believed, that Jesus never died for men and left them to their fate, but that He will certainly come back to claim the souls He died for. It lives in prayer and work, both of them keeping it open and dependent; and by and by He comes, and they, being ready, enter in with Him to His home and their home in God.
One would like to speak to all these young people very earnestly. Do not think that the life you are beginning has shown you yet all its mystery. Do not think you have got to the height or the depth of it when you have just found it pleasant and sunny. It is more solemn and profound than that itt will bring vast experiences. To you, more wonderful by far than you know yourself, and capable of far greater intercourses than you have imagined, the Son of Man will certainly come. Do not manufacture experiences. Do not pay too much regard
to those who shout to you, “Lo, here is Christ!” or, ”Lo, He is there!” but be so expectant of Him always, keep so in the pure way of His commandments, pray so earnestly for Him to come, that when He does come you will know it; when He calls you, you will answer; when He says, “Come to me,” you will leave all and follow Him. Let your life be that, and then one hardly dares to say which is the holier, the time here while you are watching for His coming, or the Eternity hereafter when He shall have fully come and received you to Himself. May God grant you first the one and then the other I.

Hymn for Today:
“God, That Madest Earth and Heaven” by Reginald Heber 1783-1826 (stanza 1); Frederick Lucian Hosmer, 1840-1929 (stanza 2)
1. God, that madest earth and heaven,
darkness and light,
who the day for toil hast given,
for rest the night:
may thine angel guards defend us,
slumber sweet thy mercy send us;
holy dreams and hopes attend us,
this livelong night.
2. When the constant sun returning
unseals our eyes,
may we, born anew like morning,
to labor rise.
Gird us for the task that calls us,
let not ease and self enthrall us,
strong through thee whate’er befall us,
O God most wise!

Through the Bible in One Year:
Joshua 11 to 20
1 When Jabin king of Hazor heard about this, he sent word to Jobab king of Merom, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph
2 and to the kings in the northern highlands, in the plain south of Chinneroth, and those in the lowlands and on the slopes of Dor to the west.
3 To eastward and to westward lived the Canaanites: in the highlands, the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites; the Hivites, at the foot of Hermon in the area of Mizpah.
4 They set out with all their troops, a people as numerous as the sands of the sea, with a huge number of horses and chariots.
5 These kings, having all agreed on a meeting place, came and set up camp together at the Waters of Merom, to fight Israel.
6 Yahweh then said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them, for by this time tomorrow I shall hand them all over, cut to pieces, to Israel; you will hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.’
7 With all his warriors Joshua caught them unawares near the Waters of Merom and fell on them.
8 Yahweh put them at Israel’s mercy and they defeated them and pursued them as far as Sidon the Great, and as far as Misrephoth to the west, and as far as the Vale of Mizpah to the east; they harried them until not one of them was left alive.
9 Joshua treated them as Yahweh had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.
10 Joshua then turned back and captured Hazor, putting its king to the sword. Hazor in olden days was the capital of all these kingdoms.
11 In compliance with the curse of destruction, they put every living creature there to the sword. Not a living soul was left, and Hazor was burnt to the ground.
12 All these royal cities and all their kings Joshua put to the sword in compliance with the curse of destruction, as Moses, servant of Yahweh, had ordered.
13 Yet of all these towns standing on their mounds, Israel burned none, apart from Hazor, burnt by Joshua.
14 All the spoils of these towns, including the livestock, the Israelites took as booty for themselves. But they put all the human beings to the sword till they had destroyed them completely; they did not leave a living soul.
15 What Yahweh had ordered his servant Moses, Moses in turn had ordered Joshua, and Joshua carried it out, leaving nothing undone of what Yahweh had ordered Moses.
16 In consequence, Joshua captured this entire country: the highlands, the whole Negeb and the whole of Goshen, the lowlands, the Arabah, the highlands and lowlands of Israel.
17 From Mount Halak, which rises towards Seir, to Baal-Gad in the Vale of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon, he captured all their kings, struck them down and put them to death.
18 For many a day Joshua made war on all these kings;
19 no city had made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites who lived at Gibeon; all the rest had been captured in battle.
20 For Yahweh had decided to harden the hearts of these men, so that they would engage Israel in battle and thus come under the curse of destruction and so receive no quarter but be exterminated, as Yahweh had ordered Moses.
21 Joshua then went and wiped out the Anakim of the highlands, of Hebron, of Debir, of Anab, of all the highlands of Judah and of all the highlands of Israel; he delivered them and their towns over to the curse of destruction.
22 No Anakim were left in the territory of the Israelites, except at Gaza, Gath and Ashdod.
23 Joshua captured the entire country, just as Yahweh had told Moses, and he gave it as heritage to Israel, to be shared out between their tribes. And the country had rest from warfare.
1 The kings of the country, whom the Israelites conquered and whose territory they took, on the further, eastern side of the Jordan, from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon, with the entire Arabah to the east, were as follows:
2 Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, ruled from Aroer which is on the edge of the Arnon Valley, including the bottom of the valley, half Gilead and as far as the Jabbok, the river forming the frontier with the Ammonites;
3 the eastern Arabah up to the Sea of Chinneroth, and as far as the Sea of the Arabah, or Salt Sea, on the eastern side, in the direction of Beth-Jeshimoth, and, in the south, the watered foothills of Mount Pisgah.
4 Og king of Bashan, one of the last of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and Edrei,
5 ruled over Mount Hermon and Salecah, the whole of Bashan to the frontier of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and half Gilead to the frontier of Sihon king of Heshbon.
6 Moses, servant of Yahweh, and the Israelites conquered these, and Moses, servant of Yahweh, conferred their territory on the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
7 The kings of the country whom Joshua and the Israelites conquered on the nearer, western side of the Jordan, from Baal-Gad in the Vale of Lebanon to Mount Halak rising towards Seir, and whose heritage Joshua distributed to the tribes of Israel, dividing it up between them, were as follows:
8 In the highlands and the lowlands, in the Arabah and in the watered foothills, in the desert and in the Negeb, belonging to the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites:
9 the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai near Bethel, one;
10 the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;
11 the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;
12 the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;
13 the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;
14 the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;
15 the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;
16 the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;
17 the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;
18 the king of Aphek, one; the king of Sharon, one;
19 the king of Merom, one; the king of Hazor, one;
20 the king of Shimron Meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;
21 the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;
22 the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one;
23 the king of Dor, on the Slopes of Dor, one; the king of the nations in Galilee, one;
24 the king of Tirzah, one; Total number of all these kings: thirty-one.
1 Now Joshua had grown old and advanced in years. Yahweh said to him, ‘You are now old and advanced in years, yet there is still a great deal of territory left to be taken possession of.
2 This is all the territory left: ‘All the districts of the Philistines and the whole country of the Geshurites;
3 from the Shihor, facing Egypt, to the frontier of Ekron in the north, is reckoned as Canaanite territory. The five rulers of the Philistines have their seats at Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron, respectively; the Avvites are in
4 the south. The entire territory of the Canaanites, and Mearah which belongs to the Sidonians, as far as Aphekah and as far as the frontier of the Amorites;
5 and then the country of the Gebalites with the entire Lebanon eastwards from Baal-Gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to the Pass of Hamath.
6 ‘All who live in the highlands from the Lebanon to Misrephoth in the west — all the Sidonians — I myself shall dispossess before the Israelites. All you have to do is to distribute the territory as a heritage for the Israelites as I have ordered you.
7 The time has come to divide this territory as a heritage between the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh: from the Jordan as far as the Great Sea in the west, you must give it them; the Great Sea will be their limit.’
8 As regards the other half-tribe of Manasseh, this and the Reubenites and Gadites had already received their heritage, given them by Moses on the further, eastern side of the Jordan, the one which Moses, servant of Yahweh, had already given them:
9 The country onwards from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley, with the town in the bottom of the valley and the entire tableland from Medeba to Dibon;
10 all the towns of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had reigned in Heshbon, to the frontier of the Ammonites;
11 then Gilead and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites with the whole Hermon range and the whole of Bashan as far as Salecah;
12 and in Bashan, the whole kingdom of Og, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei, and was the last of the survivors of the Rephaim. Moses had conquered and dispossessed these two kings.
13 The Israelites did not, however, dispossess either the Geshurites or the Maacathites, hence Geshur and Maacah survive inside Israel even today.
14 To the tribe of Levi alone no heritage was given; Yahweh, God of Israel, was his heritage, as he had told him.
15 Moses had given the tribe of the sons of Reuben a share by clans.
16 Thus, their territory was the entire tableland from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley, with the town in the bottom of the valley, as far as Medeba,
17 Heshbon with all the towns on the tableland: Dibon, Bamoth-Baal, Beth-Baal-Meon,
18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,
19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah and, in the highlands of the Arabah, Zereth-Shahar;
20 Beth-Peor, the watered foothills of Mount Pisgah, Beth-ha-Jeshimoth,
21 all the towns on the tableland and the entire kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had reigned in Heshbon; he had been defeated by Moses, and with him the princes of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba, vassals of Sihon, formerly living in the country.
22 As regards Balaam son of Beor, the soothsayer, the Israelites had put him to the sword with those whom they had killed.
23 The boundary of the Reubenites was the Jordan and its territory. Such was the heritage of the sons of Reuben, by clans, with the towns and villages belonging to them.
24 Moses had given the tribe of Gad, the sons of Gad, a share by clans.
25 Their territory was Jazer, all the towns of Gilead, half the country of the Ammonites as far as Aroer facing Rabbah,
26 and from Heshbon to Ramath-Mizpeh and Betonim; from Mahanaim as far as the territory of Lo-Debar,
27 and in the valley: Beth-Haram, Beth-Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon — the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon — the Jordan and the territory running to the tip of the Sea of Chinneroth, on the further, eastern side of the Jordan.
28 Such was the heritage of the sons of Gad, by clans, with their towns and villages belonging to them.
29 Moses had given the half-tribe of Manasseh a share by clans.
30 Their territory, starting from Mahanaim, was the whole of Bashan, the entire kingdom of Og king of Bashan, all the Encampments of Jair in Bashan: sixty towns.
31 Half of Gilead, with Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan, were allotted to the sons of Machir son of Manasseh, to half of the sons of Machir, by clans.
32 This was what Moses had conferred in heritage on the Plains of Moab on the further, eastern side of the Jordan opposite Jericho.
33 To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses gave no heritage; Yahweh, God of Israel, was his heritage, as he had told him.
1 This was what the Israelites received as their heritage in Canaan, which was given them as their heritage by the priest, Eleazar, and by Joshua son of Nun, with the heads of families of the tribes of Israel.
2 They received their heritage by lot, as Yahweh had ordered through Moses, as regards the nine tribes and the half-tribe.
3 For Moses himself had given the two-and-a-half tribes their heritage on the further side of the Jordan, although to the Levites he had given no heritage with them.
4 Since the sons of Joseph formed two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, no share in the country was given to the Levites, apart from some towns to live in, with their pasture lands for their livestock and their possessions.
5 The Israelites did as Yahweh had ordered Moses, and shared out the country.
6 Some sons of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, ‘You know what Yahweh said to Moses, man of God, at Kadesh-Barnea concerning you and me.
7 I was forty years old when Moses, servant of Yahweh, sent me from Kadesh-Barnea to reconnoitre this country, and I made him a completely honest report.
8 The brothers, however, who had gone up with me discouraged the people, whereas I myself scrupulously obeyed Yahweh my God.
9 That day Moses swore this oath, “Be sure of this, that the country your foot has trodden will be a heritage for you and your children for ever, since you have scrupulously obeyed Yahweh my God.”
10 From then till now, Yahweh has kept me alive in observance of his promise. It is forty-five years since Yahweh said this to Moses — Israel was then going through the desert — and now I am eighty-five years old.
11 Today I am still as strong as the day when Moses sent me out on that errand; for fighting, for going and coming, I am as strong now as then.
12 It is time you gave me the highlands, of which Yahweh spoke to me that day. You heard that day that there were Anakim and large, fortified towns there; but if Yahweh is with me, I shall drive them out, as Yahweh has said.’
13 Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as heritage.
14 And hence Hebron down to the present day has remained the heritage of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, since he had scrupulously obeyed Yahweh, God of Israel.
15 Hebron in olden days was called Kiriath-Arba. Arba had been the greatest of the Anakim. And the country had rest from warfare.
1 The portion falling to the tribe of the sons of Judah, by clans, was near the frontier of Edom, from the desert of Zin southwards to Kadesh in the south.
2 Their southern frontier began at the tip of the Salt Sea, at the southerly bay;
3 it proceeded south of the Ascent of Scorpions, crossed Zin and came up to Kadesh-Barnea from the south; past Hezron, it went on to Addar and turned towards Karka;
4 the frontier then went on to Azmon, came out at the Torrent of Egypt and reached as far as the sea. This is to be your southern frontier.
5 The eastern frontier was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan.
6 The northern boundary began at the bay at the mouth of the Jordan. The boundary went up to Beth-Hoglah, passed north of Beth-ha-Arabah and went on to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.
7 The boundary then went on to Debir from the Vale of Achor and turned north towards the stone circle opposite the Ascent of Adummim, which is south of the Torrent; the boundary went on to the Waters of En-Shemesh and came out at En-Rogel.
8 It then went back up the Valley of Hinnom, coming from the south to the flank of the Jebusite — that is, Jerusalem — and climbed to the crest of the mountain barring the Valley of Hinnom to the west, at the northern end of the Valley of the Rephaim.
9 From the mountain top, the boundary curved round to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, went on to the towns of Mount Ephron and then turned towards Baalah — that is, Kiriath-Jearim.
10 From Baalah, the boundary curved westwards to the highlands of Seir, skirted the northern slope of Mount Jearim — that is, Chesalon — went down to Beth-Shemesh and through Timnah,
11 came out on the northern flank of Ekron, turned towards Shikkeron and, passing through the highlands of Baalah, came out at Jabneel, and reached as far as the sea.
12 The western boundary was the Great Sea itself. Such was the frontier surrounding the sons of Judah, by clans.
13 Caleb son of Jephunneh was given a share within that of the sons of Judah, in accordance with Yahweh’s order to Joshua: Kiriath-Arba, the town of the father of Anak — that is, Hebron.
14 Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai, descended from Anak.
15 From there he marched on the inhabitants of Debir; Debir in olden days was called Kiriath-Sepher.
16 Caleb then said, ‘To the man who attacks and takes Kiriath-Sepher, I shall give my daughter Achsah as wife.’
17 The man who captured it was Othniel son of Kenaz, brother of Caleb, who gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.
18 When she arrived, he urged her to ask her father for arable land, but when she alighted from the donkey and Caleb asked her, ‘What is the matter?’
19 she said to him, ‘Grant me a blessing! As the land you have given me is the Negeb, give me springs of water too!’ So Caleb gave her what she wanted, the upper springs and the lower springs.
20 Such was the heritage of the tribe of the sons of Judah, by clans.
21 Towns at the extremity of the tribe of the sons of Judah, near the frontier of Edom in the Negeb: Kabzeel, Arad, Jagur,
22 Kinah, Dimon, Aroer,
23 Kedesh, Hazor-Ithnan,
24 Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,
25 Hazor-Hadattah, Kiriath-Hezron — that is, Hazor-
26 Amam, Shema, Moladah,
27 Hazar-Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-Pelet,
28 Hazar-Shual, Beersheba and its dependencies,
29 Baalah, Iim, Ezem,
30 Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah,
31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah,
32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain and Rimmon: in all, twenty-nine towns with their villages.
33 In the lowlands: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah,
34 Zanoah, En-Gannim, Tappuah, Enam,
35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,
36 Shaaraim, Aditaim, Ha-Gederah and Gederothaim: fourteen towns with their villages.
37 Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-Gad,
38 Dilean, Ha-Mizpeh, Jokteel,
39 Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon,
40 Cabbon, Lahmas, Chitlish,
41 Gederoth, Beth-Dagon, Naamah and Makkedah: sixteen towns with their villages.
42 Libna, Ether, Asham,
43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,
44 Keilah, Achzib and Mareshah: nine towns with their villages.
45 Ekron with its dependencies and its villages.
46 From Ekron to the sea, everything to the side of Ashdod, with its villages.
47 Ashdod with its dependencies and its villages; Gaza with its dependencies and its villages as far as the Torrent of Egypt, the Great Sea forming the boundary.
48 In the highlands: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,
49 Dannah, Kiriath-Sepher, now Debir,
50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim,
51 Goshen, Holon and Giloh: eleven towns with their villages.
52 Arab, Dumah, Eshan,
53 Janum, Beth-Tappuah, Aphekah,
54 Humtah, Kiriath-Arba, now Hebron, and Zior: nine towns with their villages.
55 Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,
56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
57 Ha-Kain, Gibeah and Timnah: ten towns with their villages.
58 Halhul, Beth-Zur, Gedor,
59 Maarath, Beth-Anoth and Eltekon: six towns with their villages. Tekoa, Ephrathah, now Bethlehem, Peor, Etam, Kulon, Tatam, Sores, Carem, Gallim, Bether and Manach: eleven towns with their villages.
60 Kiriath-Baal, that is Kiriath-Jearim, and Rabbah: two towns with their villages.
61 In the desert: Beth-Arabah, Middin, Secacah,
62 Nibshan, Salt Town and En-Gedi: six towns with their villages.
63 The Jebusites, however, who lived in Jerusalem, the sons of Judah were unable to dispossess, and the Jebusites still live in Jerusalem today, side by side with the sons of Judah.
1 The portion of the sons of Joseph started on the east at the Jordan opposite Jericho (the Waters of Jericho) through the desert rising from Jericho into the highlands of Bethel;
2 from Bethel it went to Luz, and on towards the frontier of the Archites at Ataroth;
3 then passed downwards and westwards to the frontier of the Japhletites as far as the border of Lower Beth-Horon and on to Gezer, and reached as far as the sea.
4 Such was the heritage of the sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim.
5 As regards the territory of the sons of Ephraim, by clans, the frontier of their heritage ran from Ataroth-Arach to Upper Beth-Horon;
6 the frontier then reached as far as the sea . . . the Michmethath in the north, and the frontier turned east to Tanaath-Shiloh which it crossed in an easterly direction to Janoah;
7 it ran down to Ataroth and Naarah, touched Jericho and ended at the Jordan.
8 From Tappuah, the frontier ran westwards to the Torrent of Kanah and reached as far as the sea. Such was the heritage of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim, by clans,
9 apart from the towns reserved for the sons of Ephraim inside the heritage of the sons of Manasseh, all these towns and their villages.
10 The Canaanites living in Gezer were not driven out; they have remained in Ephraim to the present day but are obliged to do forced labour.
1 The portion of the tribe of Manasseh, who was in fact Joseph’s first-born — went to Machir, Manasseh’s first-born, father of Gilead, for he was a warrior; he had Gilead and Bashan.
2 The other sons of Manasseh had theirs, by clans: for the sons of Abiezer, for the sons of Helek, for the sons of Asriel, for the sons of Shechem, for the sons of Hepher, and for the sons of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh son of Joseph, by clans.
3 Zelophehad son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters, whose names were these: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.
4 These approached the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun and the leaders, and said, ‘Yahweh ordered Moses to give us a heritage among our brothers.’ In compliance with Yahweh’s order, therefore, they were given a heritage among their father’s brothers.
5 In this way ten portions fell to Manasseh, apart from Gilead and Bashan lying on the further side of the Jordan,
6 since Manasseh’s daughters received a heritage as well as his sons. Gilead itself belonged to Manasseh’s other sons.
7 On the side of Asher, the frontier of Manasseh was the Michmethath, which is opposite Shechem, and thence continued to the right to Jashib, which is at the spring of Tappuah.
8 The territory of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah on Manasseh’s border belonged to the sons of Ephraim.
9 The boundary went down to the Torrent of Kanah; south of the Torrent were the towns of Ephraim, excluding those owned by Ephraim among the towns of Manasseh; the boundary of Manasseh was north of the Torrent and reached as far as the sea.
10 The south belonged to Ephraim and the north to Manasseh and reached as far as the sea; they touched Asher to the north and Issachar to the east.
11 With Issachar and Asher, Manasseh shared Beth-Shean and its dependent towns, Ibleam and its dependent towns, the inhabitants of Dor and of its dependent towns, the inhabitants of Taanach and Megiddo and of their dependent towns: the Three of the Slopes.
12 But because the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these towns, the Canaanites managed to live on in that territory.
13 When, however, the Israelites became stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labour, though they never dispossessed them.
14 The sons of Joseph spoke as follows to Joshua, ‘Why have you given me only one share, only one portion, as heritage, when I am a numerous people, since Yahweh has so blessed me?’
15 Joshua replied, ‘If your people are so many, go up to the wooded area and clear space for yourselves in the area belonging to the Perizzites and Rephaim, since the highlands of Ephraim are too small for you.’
16 The sons of Joseph replied, ‘The highlands are not enough for us, and what is more, all the Canaanites living on the land of the plain have iron chariots, so do those in Beth-Shean and its dependent towns, and those in the plain of Jezreel.’
17 Joshua said to the House of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, ‘You are a numerous people and your strength is great; you will not only have one share,
18 but a mountain will be yours as well; even if it is a forest, you can clear it and its territories will be yours. And you will dispossess the Canaanites, although they have iron chariots and although they are strong.’
1 The whole community of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh, and the Tent of Meeting was set up there; the whole country had been subdued for them.
2 But among the Israelites there were still seven tribes left who had not received their heritage.
3 Joshua then said to the Israelites, ‘How much more time are you going to waste before you go and take possession of the country which Yahweh, God of your ancestors, has given to you?
4 Choose three men from each tribe for me to send all over the country so that they can make a survey with a view to their inheritances and then come back to me.
5 They will divide the country into seven portions. Judah will remain in his territory in the south, and those of the House of Joseph will remain in their territory in the north.
6 You must survey the country in seven sections and bring your findings to me here, so that I can cast lots for you here, in the presence of Yahweh our God.
7 The Levites, however, will have no portion with the rest of you; the priesthood of Yahweh will be their heritage. As regards Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh, they have received their heritage on the further, eastern side of the Jordan, the one given them by Moses, servant of Yahweh.’
8 The men stood up and set off. To those who were to survey the country Joshua gave this order, ‘Start out, then, go all over the country, survey it, and then come back to me; and I shall cast lots for you here, in the presence of Yahweh, at Shiloh.’
9 The men left, went all over the country and surveyed it by towns, in seven sections, writing down their findings in a book, and then went back to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh.
10 Joshua cast lots for them in Yahweh’s presence at Shiloh, and there Joshua divided the country between the Israelites, share by share.
11 A portion fell first to the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, by clans: the territory of their portion lay between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph.
12 Their northern frontier began at the Jordan, went up the flank of Jericho to the north, climbed westwards through the highlands and came out at the desert of Beth-Aven.
13 Thence, the frontier went on to Luz, on the southern flank of Luz — now Bethel-and then down to Ataroth-Arach, on the mountain south of Lower Beth-Horon.
14 At this westerly point, the frontier curved round and turned south, from the mountain facing Beth-Horon from the south and came out at Kiriath-Baal, now Kiriath-Jearim, a town of the sons of Judah. That was the western side.
15 This was the south side: from the tip of Kiriath-Jearim, the frontier went to Gasin and came out near the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah,
16 it then went down to the edge of the mountain facing the Valley of Hinnom, in the Valley of the Rephaim to the north; it then went down into the Valley of Hinnom, past the southerly flank of the Jebusite, and went down to En-Rogel.
17 It then curved northwards, coming out at En-Shemesh, and came out at the stone circle opposite the Ascent of Adummim, then went down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.
18 It then went on to Cheteph on the flank of Beth-ha-Arabah northwards, and went down into the Arabah;
19 the frontier then passed round the northern flank of Beth-Hoglah, and the frontier came out at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the southern end of the Jordan. Such was the southern frontier.
20 The Jordan itself formed the frontier on the east. Such was the heritage of the sons of Benjamin as defined by their frontier, by clans.
21 The towns of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, by clans, were:
22 Jericho, Beth-Hoglah, Emek-Keziz;
23 Beth-Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel; Avvim, Parah, Ophrah;
24 Chephar-Ammoni, Ophni, Geba: twelve towns and their villages.
25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth;
26 Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah;
27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah;
28 Zela-ha-Eleph, the Jebusite — that is, Jerusalem — Gibeah and Kiriath: fourteen towns with their villages. Such was the heritage of the sons of Benjamin, by clans.
1 The second lot to come out was for Simeon, for the tribe of the sons of Simeon, by clans; their heritage was within the heritage of the sons of Judah.
2 As heritage, they received:
3 Beersheba, Shema, Moladah,
4 Hazar-Shual, Balah, Ezem, Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,
5 Ziklag, Beth-ha-Marcaboth, Hazar-Susa,
6 Beth-Lebaoth and Sharuhen: thirteen towns and their villages.
7 Ain, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan: four towns and their villages,
8 with all the villages situated near these towns as far as Baalath-Beer and Ramah of the Negeb. Such was the heritage of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, by clans.
9 The heritage of the sons of Simeon was taken out of the portion of the sons of Judah, because the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; hence, the sons of Simeon received their heritage within the heritage of the sons of Judah.
10 The third lot fell to the sons of Zebulun, by clans; the territory of their heritage stretched as far as Sadud;
11 their frontier climbed westwards to Maraalah, touching Dabbesheth and the torrent facing Jokneam.
12 From Sadud, the frontier turned east, towards the rising sun, as far as the frontier of Chisloth-Tabor; it came out at Dobrath and went up to Japhia.
13 Thence, it went east, towards the sunrise, to Gath-Hepher and Ittah-Kazin, came out at Rimmon and turned towards Neah.
14 The northern frontier turned towards Hannathon and came to an end in the Valley of Iphtah-El;
15 with Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Iralah and Bethlehem: twelve towns with their villages.
16 Such was the heritage of the sons of Zebulun, by clans: these towns with their villages.
17 The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the sons of Issachar, by clans.
18 Their territory stretched towards Jezreel and included Chesulloth, Shunem,
19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath,
20 Dobrath, Kishion, Ebez,
21 Remeth, En-Gannim, En-Haddah and Beth-Pazzez.
22 Their frontier touched Tabor, Shahazimah and Beth-Shemesh, and the frontier came to an end at the Jordan: sixteen towns with their villages.
23 Such was the heritage of the tribe of the sons of Issachar, by clans: the towns and their villages.
24 The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the sons of Asher, by clans.
25 Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph,
26 Alammelech, Amad and Mishal.
27 On the west, it touched Carmel and the course of the Libnath. On the side of the rising sun, it went as far as Beth-Dagon, touched Zebulun, the Valley of Iphtah-El on the north side, Beth-ha-Emek and Neiel, coming out with Cabul on the left,
28 with Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah as far as Sidon the Great. The frontier then turned towards Ramah, as far as the fortress-town of Tyre;
29 the frontier then went to Hosah and reached as far as the sea at Mahalab and Achzib,
30 with Acco, Aphek and Rehob: twenty-two towns with their villages.
31 Such was the heritage of the tribe of the sons of Asher, by clans; these towns and their villages.
32 To the sons of Naphtali fell the sixth portion, to the sons of Naphtali, by clans.
33 Their frontier went from Heleph and the Oak of Zanaannim, with Adami-ha-Negeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and ended at the Jordan.
34 The westward boundary ran to Aznoth-Tabor and thence came out at Hukkok, marching with Zebulun in the south, Asher in the west and the Jordan in the east.
35 The fortified towns were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth,
36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor,
37 Kedesh, Edrei, En-Hazor,
38 Jiron, Migdal-El, Horem, Beth-Anath and Beth-Shemesh: nineteen towns and their villages.
39 Such was the heritage of the sons of Naphtali, by clans: the towns and their villages.
40 To the tribe of the sons of Dan, by clans, fell the seventh portion.
41 The territory of their heritage comprised: Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-Shemesh,
42 Shaalbim, Aijalon, Silatha,
43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron,
44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon,
45 Baalath, Azor, Bene-Berak and Gath-Rimmon;
46 and, by the sea, Jerakon with the territory facing Jaffa.
47 The territory of the sons of Dan eluded them, however, and the sons of Dan consequently went up and attacked Leshem, captured it and put it to the sword. Having gained possession of it, they settled there and called Leshem, Dan, after Dan their ancestor.
48 Such was the heritage of the tribe of the sons of Dan, by clans: these towns and their villages.
49 Having finished dividing the country, frontier by frontier, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun a heritage among themselves;
50 at Yahweh’s command, they gave him the town which he had asked for, Timnath-Serah in the highlands of Ephraim; he rebuilt the town and settled there.
51 Such are the heritages which the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of each family apportioned by lot between the tribes of Israel at Shiloh, in Yahweh’s presence, at the door of the Tent of Meeting; and thus the apportioning of the country was completed.
1 Yahweh said to Joshua,
2 ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them, “Choose yourselves the cities of refuge of which I spoke to you through Moses,
3 to which anyone who has accidentally (unintentionally) killed someone else may flee, and which will serve you as refuge from the avenger of blood.
4 (The killer must flee to one of these towns. He will stop at the entrance to the town gate and explain his case to the town elders. These will admit him to their town and assign him a place to live among them.
5 If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not hand the killer over to him, since he has killed his fellow unintentionally and was not motivated by long-standing hatred for him.
6 He must stay in this town) until he is brought to trial before the community (until the death of the high priest then in office. Only then may the killer go back to his own town and to his own house in the town from which he has fled).”
7 For this purpose they designated Kedesh in Galilee, in the highlands of Naphtali, Shechem in the highlands of Ephraim, and Kiriath-Arba — now Hebron — in the highlands of Judah.
8 On the other, eastern, side of the Jordan opposite Jericho, in the desert of the tableland, they chose Bezer of the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan of the tribe of Manasseh.
9 Such were the towns designated for all the Israelites and for foreigners living among them, so that anyone who had accidentally killed someone could flee there and might escape the hand of the avenger of blood, until brought to trial before the community.(New Jerusalem Bible)

Daily Office for Sunday, January 22, 2012:
Psalm 63:1-11
1 [Psalm Of David When he was in the desert of Judah] God, you are my God, I pine for you; my heart thirsts for you, my body longs for you, as a land parched, dreary and waterless.
2 Thus I have gazed on you in the sanctuary, seeing your power and your glory.
3 Better your faithful love than life itself; my lips will praise you.
4 Thus I will bless you all my life, in your name lift up my hands.
5 All my longings fulfilled as with fat and rich foods, a song of joy on my lips and praise in my mouth.
6 On my bed when I think of you, I muse on you in the watches of the night,
7 for you have always been my help; in the shadow of your wings I rejoice;
8 my heart clings to you, your right hand supports me.
9 May those who are hounding me to death go down to the depths of the earth,
10 given over to the blade of the sword, and left as food for jackals.
11 Then the king shall rejoice in God, all who swear by him shall gain recognition, for the mouths of liars shall be silenced.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 98
1 [Psalm] Sing a new song to Yahweh, for he has performed wonders, his saving power is in his right hand and his holy arm.
2 Yahweh has made known his saving power, revealed his saving justice for the nations to see,
3 mindful of his faithful love and his constancy to the House of Israel. The whole wide world has seen the saving power of our God.
4 Acclaim Yahweh, all the earth, burst into shouts of joy!
5 Play to Yahweh on the harp, to the sound of instruments;
6 to the sound of trumpet and horn, acclaim the presence of the King.
7 Let the sea thunder, and all that it holds, the world and all who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands, and the mountains shout for joy together,
9 at Yahweh’s approach, for he is coming to judge the earth; he will judge the world with saving justice and the nations with fairness.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 103
1 [Of David] Bless Yahweh, my soul, from the depths of my being, his holy name;
2 bless Yahweh, my soul, never forget all his acts of kindness.
3 He forgives all your offences, cures all your diseases,
4 he redeems your life from the abyss, crowns you with faithful love and tenderness;
5 he contents you with good things all your life, renews your youth like an eagle’s.
6 Yahweh acts with uprightness, with justice to all who are oppressed;
7 he revealed to Moses his ways, his great deeds to the children of Israel.
8 Yahweh is tenderness and pity, slow to anger and rich in faithful love;
9 his indignation does not last for ever, nor his resentment remain for all time;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve, nor repay us as befits our offences.
11 As the height of heaven above earth, so strong is his faithful love for those who fear him.
12 As the distance of east from west, so far from us does he put our faults.
13 As tenderly as a father treats his children, so Yahweh treats those who fear him;
14 he knows of what we are made, he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for a human person — his days are like grass, he blooms like the wild flowers;
16 as soon as the wind blows he is gone, never to be seen there again.
17 But Yahweh’s faithful love for those who fear him is from eternity and for ever; and his saving justice to their children’s children;
18 as long as they keep his covenant, and carefully obey his precepts.
19 Yahweh has fixed his throne in heaven, his sovereign power rules over all.
20 Bless Yahweh, all his angels, mighty warriors who fulfil his commands, attentive to the sound of his words.
21 Bless Yahweh, all his armies, servants who fulfil his wishes.
22 Bless Yahweh, all his works, in every place where he rules. Bless Yahweh, my soul.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Genesis 13:2-18
2 Abram was very rich in livestock, silver and gold.
3 By stages he went from the Negeb to Bethel, where he had first pitched his tent, between Bethel and Ai,
4 at the place where he had formerly erected the altar. There Abram invoked the name of Yahweh.
5 Lot, who was travelling with Abram, had flocks and cattle of his own, and tents too.
6 The land was not sufficient to accommodate them both at once, for they had too many possessions to be able to live together.
7 Dispute broke out between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and those of Lot. (The Canaanites and Perizzites were living in the country at the time.)
8 Accordingly Abram said to Lot, ‘We do not want discord between us or between my herdsmen and yours, for we are kinsmen.
9 Is not the whole land open before you? Go in the opposite direction to me: if you take the left, I shall go right; if you take the right, I shall go left.’
10 Looking round, Lot saw all the Jordan plain, irrigated everywhere — this was before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah-like the garden of Yahweh or the land of Egypt, as far as Zoar.
11 So Lot chose all the Jordan plain for himself and moved off eastwards. Thus they parted company:
12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan; Lot settled among the cities of the plain, pitching his tents on the outskirts of Sodom.
13 Now the people of Sodom were vicious and great sinners against Yahweh.
14 Yahweh said to Abram after Lot had parted company from him, ‘Look all round from where you are, to north and south, to east and west,
15 for all the land within sight I shall give to you and your descendants for ever.
16 I shall make your descendants like the dust on the ground; when people succeed in counting the specks of dust on the ground, then they will be able to count your descendants too!
17 On your feet! Travel the length and breadth of the country, for I mean to give it to you.’
18 So Abram moved his tent and went to settle at the Oak of Mamre, at Hebron, and there he built an altar to Yahweh.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Galatians 2:1-10
1 It was not until fourteen years had gone by that I travelled up to Jerusalem again, with Barnabas, and I took Titus with me too.
2 My journey was inspired by a revelation and there, in a private session with the recognised leaders, I expounded the whole gospel that I preach to the gentiles, to make quite sure that the efforts I was making and had already made should not be fruitless.
3 Even then, and although Titus, a Greek, was with me, there was no demand that he should be circumcised;
4 but because of some false brothers who had secretly insinuated themselves to spy on the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, intending to reduce us to slavery-
5 people we did not defer to for one moment, or the truth of the gospel preached to you might have been compromised. . .
6 but those who were recognised as important people — whether they actually were important or not: There is no favouritism with God -those recognised leaders, I am saying, had nothing to add to my message.
7 On the contrary, once they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been entrusted to me, just as to Peter the gospel for the circumcised
8 (for he who empowered Peter’s apostolate to the circumcision also empowered mine to the gentiles),
9 and when they acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, then James and Cephas and John, who were the ones recognised as pillars, offered their right hands to Barnabas and to me as a sign of partnership: we were to go to the gentiles and they to they to the circumcised.
10 They asked nothing more than that we should remember to help the poor, as indeed I was anxious to do in any case.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Mark 7:31-37
31 Returning from the territory of Tyre, he went by way of Sidon towards the Lake of Galilee, right through the Decapolis territory.
32 And they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him.
33 He took him aside to be by themselves, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man’s ears and touched his tongue with spittle.
34 Then looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’
35 And his ears were opened, and at once the impediment of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly.
36 And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the more he insisted, the more widely they proclaimed it.
37 Their admiration was unbounded, and they said, ‘Everything he does is good, he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.’(New Jerusalem Bible)

Gary Lee Parker’s Sermon Outline with Scriptures for Sunday, January 22, 2012:
Third Sunday after the Epiphany
January 22, 2012
ART — PRAYER
Thematic
Perfect Light of revelation,
as you shone in the life of Jesus,
whose epiphany we celebrate,
so shine in us and through us,
that we may become beacons of truth and compassion,
enlightening all creation with deeds of justice and mercy. Amen.
OR
O God,
you spoke your word
and revealed your good news in Jesus, the Christ.
Fill all creation with that word again,
so that by proclaiming your joyful promises to all nations
and singing of your glorious hope to all peoples,
we may become one living body,
your incarnate presence on the earth. Amen.
Intercessory
To God who welcomes all in love,
let us pray for the good of the church
and the concerns of those in need.
Prayers of the People, concluding with:
God of every land and nation,
you have created all people
and you dwell among us in Jesus Christ.
Listen to the cries of those who pray to you,
and grant that, as we proclaim the greatness of your name,
all people will know the power of love at work in the world.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
OR
Sisters and brothers,
let us lift our hearts in faith
to the one who hears all prayers
and holds close all those in need.
Prayers of the People, concluding with:
Holy God, you gather the whole universe
into your radiant presence
and continually reveal your Son as our Savior.
Bring healing to all wounds,
make whole all that is broken,
speak truth to all illusion,
and shed light in every darkness,
that all creation will see your glory and know your Christ. Amen.
Scripture
God of the prophets,
you call us from evil to serve you.
Fulfill in us your commonwealth of justice and joy,
that the light of your presence
may be revealed to all nations,
to the glory of Jesus’ name. Amen
Jonah 3:1-5,10
1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to Jonah a second time.
2 ‘Up!’ he said, ‘Go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach to it as I shall tell you.’
3 Jonah set out and went to Nineveh in obedience to the word of Yahweh. Now Nineveh was a city great beyond compare; to cross it took three days.
4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city and then proclaimed, ‘Only forty days more and Nineveh will be overthrown.’
5 And the people of Nineveh believed in God; they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least.
10 God saw their efforts to renounce their evil ways. And God relented about the disaster which he had threatened to bring on them, and did not bring it.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 62:5-12
5 Rest in God alone, my soul! He is the source of my hope.
6 He alone is my rock, my safety, my stronghold, so that I stand unwavering.
7 In God is my safety and my glory, the rock of my strength. In God is my refuge;
8 trust in him, you people, at all times. Pour out your hearts to him, God is a refuge for us.Pause
9 Ordinary people are a mere puff of wind, important people a delusion; set both on the scales together, and they are lighter than a puff of wind.
10 Put no trust in extortion, no empty hopes in robbery; however much wealth may multiply, do not set your heart on it.
11 Once God has spoken, twice have I heard this: Strength belongs to God,
12 to you, Lord, faithful love; and you repay everyone as their deeds deserve.(New Jerusalem Bible)
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
29 What I mean, brothers, is that the time has become limited, and from now on, those who have spouses should live as though they had none;
30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning; those who enjoy life as though they did not enjoy it; those who have been buying property as though they had no possessions;
31 and those who are involved with the world as though they were people not engrossed in it. Because this world as we know it is passing away.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Mark 1:14-20
14 After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the gospel from God saying,
15 ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel.’
16 As he was walking along by the Lake of Galilee he saw Simon and Simon’s brother Andrew casting a net in the lake — for they were fishermen.
17 And Jesus said to them, ‘Come after me and I will make you into fishers of people.’
18 And at once they left their nets and followed him.
19 Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending the nets.
20 At once he called them and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.(New Jerusalem Bible)
TITLE: The Time Has Come
SCRIPTURE: Jonah 3:1-5,10, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, & Mark 1:14-20
THEME: The call to repent.
INTRODUCTION: Through the Scripture passages today, we learn that God is calling for His people to repent or suffer the consequences even from people who did not know god before. God called Jonah and after the suffering he went through, he went to the City of Ninevah to call the people to repent or their city would be destroyed. What surprised Jonah was that the people repented and god did not destroy the city. Would you have delayed to obey God if you knew your enemies would not be destroyed because they would repent from their sins? The Apostle Paul is teaching the people in Corinth that they should prepare for God return and not live as if there would be no judgment if they did not repent. Yes, Paul told those who are married to live as if they were not and those who are single not to seek a spouse. How would you have reacted to Paul’s letter if you were part of the Faith Community in Corinth? We come to after the death of John the Baptist where Jesus went and preach the Message of Repentance calling four fishermen to drop everything and follow Him. They left everything and followed Jesus. How would you have reacted if you were Peter, Andrew, James, or John? How about today? How do you obey what God is asking you to do for His Kingdom?
I. After Jonah’s suffering, he went to Ninevah.
A. It took Jonah many days to travel through Ninevah preaching God’s message of destruction if no repentance occurred.
B. The Ninevites repented from the greatest to the least and God did not destroy the city.
C. Would you have repented if a man preached judgement if no repentance occurred?
II. The Apostle Paul writes to the Faith Community how they are to live.
A. Paul speaks about the time being short.
B. Paul tells the married to live as if they are single and those who are single not to seek a spouse.
C. How would you really hear Paul then and now?
III. Jesus proclaims the message of time being up and for repentance to occur.
A. Jesus went to Galilee after John the Baptist was arrested or killed.
B. Jesus called four people to follow Him.
C. How would you have responded then and now?
CONCLUSION: We come to realize that too often we have failed to fully obey God in His call upon our lives. Where necessary, we come and repent to receive God’s grace and forgiveness.
INVITATION: We come to receive by eating the Body of Jesus and Drinking His Blood through the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. We come singing the Hymn “Where He Leads Me” by E. W. Blandy:
1. I can hear my Savior calling,
I can hear my Savior calling,
I can hear my Savior calling,
“Take thy cross and follow, follow me.”
Refrain:
Where he leads me I will follow,
where he leads me I will follow,
where he leads me I will follow;
I’ll go with him, with him all the way.
2. I’ll go with him through the garden,
I’ll go with him through the garden,
I’ll go with him through the garden,
I’ll go with him, with him all the way.
Refrain:
Where he leads me I will follow,
where he leads me I will follow,
where he leads me I will follow;
I’ll go with him, with him all the way.
3. I’ll go with him through the judgment,
I’ll go with him through the judgment,
I’ll go with him through the judgment,
I’ll go with him, with him all the way.
Refrain:
Where he leads me I will follow,
where he leads me I will follow,
where he leads me I will follow;
I’ll go with him, with him all the way.
4. He will give me grace and glory,
He will give me grace and glory,
He will give me grace and glory,
and go with me, with me all the way.
Refrain:
Where he leads me I will follow,
where he leads me I will follow,
where he leads me I will follow;
I’ll go with him, with him all the way.
BENEDICTION: Let us go from worship today and follow Jesus wherever He leads us.

Sunday, 22, January 2012
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Saint(s) of the day:St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr (+ 304)
Jonah 3:1-5,10
1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to Jonah a second time.
2 ‘Up!’ he said, ‘Go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach to it as I shall tell you.’
3 Jonah set out and went to Nineveh in obedience to the word of Yahweh. Now Nineveh was a city great beyond compare; to cross it took three days.
4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city and then proclaimed, ‘Only forty days more and Nineveh will be overthrown.’
5 And the people of Nineveh believed in God; they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least.
10 God saw their efforts to renounce their evil ways. And God relented about the disaster which he had threatened to bring on them, and did not bring it.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 25
1 [Of David] ADORATION I offer, Yahweh,
2 to you, my God. BUT in my trust in you do not put me to shame, let not my enemies gloat over me.
3 CALLING to you, none shall ever be put to shame, but shame is theirs who groundlessly break faith.
4 DIRECT me in your ways, Yahweh, and teach me your paths.
5 ENCOURAGE me to walk in your truth and teach me since you are the God who saves me. FOR my hope is in you all day long — such is your generosity, Yahweh.
6 GOODNESS and faithful love have been yours for ever, Yahweh, do not forget them.
7 HOLD not my youthful sins against me, but remember me as your faithful love dictates.
8 INTEGRITY and generosity are marks of Yahweh for he brings sinners back to the path.
9 JUDICIOUSLY he guides the humble, instructing the poor in his way.
10 KINDNESS unfailing and constancy mark all Yahweh’s paths, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
11 LET my sin, great though it is, be forgiven, Yahweh, for the sake of your name.
12 MEN who respect Yahweh, what of them? He teaches them the way they must choose.
13 NEIGHBOURS to happiness will they live, and their children inherit the land.
14 ONLY those who fear Yahweh have his secret and his covenant, for their understanding.
15 PERMANENTLY my eyes are on Yahweh, for he will free my feet from the snare.
16 QUICK, turn to me, pity me, alone and wretched as I am!
17 RELIEVE the distress of my heart, bring me out of my constraint.
18 SPARE a glance for my misery and pain, take all my sins away.
19 TAKE note how countless are my enemies, how violent their hatred for me.
20 UNLESS you guard me and rescue me I shall be put to shame, for you are my refuge.
21 VIRTUE and integrity be my protection, for my hope, Yahweh, is in you.
22 Ransom Israel, O God, from all its troubles.(New Jerusalem Bible)
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
29 What I mean, brothers, is that the time has become limited, and from now on, those who have spouses should live as though they had none;
30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning; those who enjoy life as though they did not enjoy it; those who have been buying property as though they had no possessions;
31 and those who are involved with the world as though they were people not engrossed in it. Because this world as we know it is passing away.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Mark 1:14-20
14 After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the gospel from God saying,
15 ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel.’
16 As he was walking along by the Lake of Galilee he saw Simon and Simon’s brother Andrew casting a net in the lake — for they were fishermen.
17 And Jesus said to them, ‘Come after me and I will make you into fishers of people.’
18 And at once they left their nets and followed him.
19 Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending the nets.
20 At once he called them and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Commentary of the day:
Saint Leo the Great (?-c.461), Pope and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 1 for the Nativity of the Lord, III; PL 54, 190 (trans. ©Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers; cf breviary 25/12)
“Repent, and believe in the gospel”
Let us then, dearly beloved, give thanks to God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Spirit, who “for the great mercy wherewith He has loved us,” has had pity on us, and “when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life in Christ,” (Eph 2,5) that we might be in him a new creation and a new production. Let us put off then the old man with his deeds (Col 3,9), and having obtained a share in the birth of Christ let us renounce the works of the flesh.
Christian, acknowledge your dignity, and since you have become a partner in the Divine na­ture (2Pt 1,4), refuse to return to the baseness you were in before. Remember whose is the head and body of which you are a member (Eph 4,15-16). Recollect that you were “rescued from the power of darkness and have been brought into God’s light and kingdom” (Col 1,13). By the mystery of baptism you were made the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 6,19); do not put so great a guest to flight by evil deeds and so subject yourself once more to the devil’s thraldom, because you have been redeemed by the blood of Christ.

1st Thought for Today:
My Utmost for His Highest
Reading for Sunday 22nd January 2012
WHAT AM I LOOKING AT? by Oswald Chambers
Look unto Me, and be ye saved.(Isaiah 45:22)
Do we expect God to come to us with His blessings and save us? He says – Look unto Me, and be saved. The great difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and it is His blessings that make it difficult. Troubles nearly always make us look to God; His blessings are apt to make us look elsewhere. The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is, in effect – Narrow all your interests until the attitude of mind and heart and body is concentration on Jesus Christ. “Look unto Me.”
Many of us have a mental conception of what a Christian should be, and the lives of the saints become a hindrance to our concentration on God. There is no salvation in this way, it is not simple enough. “Look unto Me” and – not “you will be saved,” but “you are saved.” The very thing we look for, we shall find if we will concentrate on Him. We get preoccupied and sulky with God, while all the time He is saying – “Look up and be saved.” The difficulties and trials – the casting about in our minds as to what we shall do this summer, or to-morrow, all vanish when we look to God.
Rouse yourself up and look to God. Build your hope on Him. No matter if there are a hundred and one things that press, resolutely exclude them all and look to Him. “Look unto Me,” and salvation is, the moment you look.

Reflecting God-What Is Your Destiny?
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Scripture-Psalm 49:12-20
12 In prosperity people lose their good sense, they become no better than dumb animals.
13 So they go on in their self-assurance, right up to the end they are content with their lot.Pause
14 They are penned in Sheol like sheep, Death will lead them to pasture, and those who are honest will rule over them. In the morning all trace of them will be gone, Sheol will be their home.
15 But my soul God will ransom from the clutches of Sheol, and will snatch me up.Pause
16 Do not be overawed when someone gets rich, and lives in ever greater splendour;
17 when he dies he will take nothing with him, his wealth will not go down with him.
18 Though he pampered himself while he lived — and people praise you for looking after yourself-
19 he will go to join the ranks of his ancestors, who will never again see the light.
20 In prosperity people lose their good sense, they become no better than dumb animals.(New Jerusalem Bible)
What Is Your Destiny? by Lenny Wisehart
In verses 12-20 the destinies of the wicked and righteous are vividly stated. The wicked man has no hope beyond this life, but the righteous man will be resurrected to eternal life. Verse 15 stands in sharp contrast to the preceding verses and affirms the psalmist’s unshakable conviction of redemption beyond the grave.
No amount of money can buy life. It is a temporary condition. Just like animals that die, even the wealthy must perish (verse 12). While those wealthy persons who rely on their money will perish, those who trust in the Lord will be “taken” to him when they die. In these verses we see the foolishness of thinking that anyone can do wrong and get away with it. No one can escape the judgment of God. There is coming a day when all persons will given an account.
Is your life a temporary distraction or a preparation for the long term? Are you enjoying life while preparing for eternity, or is your focus solely the fleeting moments of this life? How valuable is your soul? Do you know where its destiny lies?
Hymn for Today:
“The Church’s One Foundation” by Samuel J. Stone
1. The church’s one foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord;
she is his new creation
by water and the Word.
From heaven he came and sought her
to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died.
2. Elect from every nation,
yet one o’er all the earth;
her charter of salvation,
one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with every grace endued.
3. Though with a scornful wonder
we see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder,
by heresies distressed,
yet saints their watch are keeping;
their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song.
4. Mid toil and tribulation,
and tumult of her war,
she waits the consummation
of peace forevermore;
till, with the vision glorious,
her longing eyes are blest,
and the great church victorious
shall be the church at rest.
5. Yet she on earth hath union
with God the Three in One,
and mystic sweet communion
with those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we
like them, the meek and lowly,
on high may dwell with thee.
2nd Thought for Today:
“Life’s disappointments, for the believer, can become God’s appointments for grace and blessing.
Prayer Needs:
Developing Christian leaders in Poland.

The Upper Room daily devotional
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Renewed Faith
Suggested Bible Reading:
Read Matthew 6:25-34
25 ‘That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and what you are to wear. Surely life is more than food, and the body more than clothing!
26 Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are?
27 Can any of you, however much you worry, add one single cubit to your span of life?
28 And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin;
29 yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his royal robes was clothed like one of these.
30 Now if that is how God clothes the wild flowers growing in the field which are there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you who have so little faith?
31 So do not worry; do not say, “What are we to eat? What are we to drink? What are we to wear?”
32 It is the gentiles who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all.
33 Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on God’s saving justice, and all these other things will be given you as well.
34 So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
Today’s Scripture:
If . . . God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?(Matthew 6:30 (NIV))
Today’s Devotional
I had been laid off for five months. While I was actively searching for new employment, the economy continued to contract, and jobs were not easy to find, particularly in my rather specialized field. One morning I received a form, e-mail rejection, after I had spent hours writing and sending the application for a job that seemed tailor-made for me. I was completely demoralized and decided to quit my job search for the day.
As I walked outside in tears, I noticed that my orange, yellow, and white lilies had bloomed for the first time of the season. They were spectacular. Immediately I thought of the verses in the Matthew reading above about how God clothes the lilies and takes care of the birds and that we are more important then they are. The passage continues, “Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” I immediately felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders and replaced with a renewed faith that God would meet my needs and direct me to a better place. I resolved to continue to put my trust in God. by Susan Bennett (Virginia, USA)
3rd Thought for the Day: We can trust God in the parched deserts and in the lush gardens of life.
Prayer: Dear God, when we begin to worry, help us instead to gain the comfort and calm that come from trusting you. In the name of your son, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Those searching for a job
The scripture quotation, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2012 by The Upper Room, a ministry of GBOD. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or redistribute without written permission from the publisher.

Daily Meditation: Wisdom — January 22, 2012
Center for Action and Contemplation
WISDOM
“Wisdom is bright and does not grow dim . . . and is found by those who look for her.”(Wisdom 6:12-13)
Wisdom is not the gathering of more facts and information, as if that would eventually coalesce into truth. Wisdom is precisely a different way of seeing and knowing the “ten thousand things” in a new way. I suggest that wisdom is precisely the freedom to be truly present to what is right in front of you. Presence is wisdom! People who are fully present know how to see fully, rightly, and truthfully.
Presence is the one thing necessary for wisdom, and in many ways, it is the hardest thing of all. Just try to keep 1) your heart space open, 2) your mind without division or resistance, and 3) your body not somewhere else—and all at the same time! Most religions just decided it was easier to believe doctrines and obey often-arbitrary laws than the truly converting work of being present. Those who can be present will know what they need to know, and in a wisdom way. From The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See, pp. 59-60
Starter Prayer:
Grant me wisdom. by Father Richard Rohr

4th Thought for Today:
Sunday January 22, 2012
Community Supported by Solitude
Solitude greeting solitude, that’s what community is all about. Community is not the place where we are no longer alone but the place where we respect, protect, and reverently greet one another’s aloneness. When we allow our aloneness to lead us into solitude, our solitude will enable us to rejoice in the solitude of others. Our solitude roots us in our own hearts. Instead of making us yearn for company that will offer us immediate satisfaction, solitude makes us claim our center and empowers us to call others to claim theirs. Our various solitudes are like strong, straight pillars that hold up the roof of our communal house. Thus, solitude always strengthens community. by Henri J. M. Nouwen

1.22.12 – The Significance of Sexual Intimacy from The Church of the Resurrection-United Methodist in Leawood, Kansas, United States
Weekly Prayer:
Lord God, “a man embraces his wife, and they become one flesh”? Wow—Genesis said the
first human couple were really strongly attracted to each other! Sometimes I have
that sense, too, but so many things (grief, illness, betrayal, unresolved childhood
hurts, even just human brokenness in one or both partners) can go wrong. This week,
teach me about the joy, bonding and sharing of life that “good sex,” sex as you
intend it to be, can bring to our lives. Amen.
Prayer Tip:
For the past few weeks, during this sermon series on marriage, Pastor Adam has said, right before the prayer at the end of the message, “If you are sitting near your spouse, take their hand as we pray.” Touch of all kinds is important to us as human beings. We are wired to connect physically with each other, and not just in a sexual way. Jesus often reached out his hand to touch people and heal them.
There can be great comfort and power in something as simple as holding the hands of someone else while you pray. According to scientists, a warm touch seems to set off the release of oxytocin, a hormone that helps create a sensation of trust, and to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Another study suggests that humans are wired to “share the load” of processing problems, and that simple touching of one another helps initiate that process. (From “Evidence That Little Touches Do Mean So Much.” Benedict Cary. NY Times 2/10/2011.)
When you are “processing problems,” is prayer part of that process? Do you take your fears, frustrations, joys or concerns to others and ask them to join you in carrying those parts of your life to God? Do you hold hands while you pray, powerfully connecting to each other as you connect to God?
This week, find at least one other person, hold their hand or touch their shoulder, and pray with them. If you don’t have anyone you feel comfortable praying with in this way, come to Firestone Chapel on the south side of the Narthex before and after worship this weekend, or the Congregational Care offices in the East Building of the Leawood Campus from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm on any weekday, and one of our pastors, CCMs, or staff members would be blessed to hold your hand and pray with you. by Jennifer Creagar, Resurrection Prayer Ministries

5th Thought for Today:
Sunday 22 January 2012
Cultures
Is culture a dangerous thing? There is a whole global movement of destroying culture. Because the big problem today is, for some people, Christianity and Islam. Or it’s Buddhism and something else. So we have to breakdown culture for a new humanity to rise up. The theory sounds great. But it is not as easy as that. If I don’t belong, well who am I? by Jean Vanier
Belonging: The Search for Acceptance
Windborne Production Video

Sermon for Today:
New Starts In Life by Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)
“And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day
he sent them into his vineyard.”(Matthew 20: 2)
The parable from which these words are taken is one of the most complete in its details of any that the Saviour ever spoke. It covers a whole day, and as we read it the whole course of the day stands out clear before us. In the words which I have quoted we are set at one moment of the vivid story and can see exactly what is going on. The master of a vineyard having gone out into the highways and found some workmen waiting there now stands at his vineyard gate and, coming to an agreement with each man about the wages which he will receive, he sends each in succession into the great field where the work is waiting. It is a bright, fresh picture. Everything is sparkling in the morning light. The men all ready for work stand waiting. The master, thoughtful and considerate, stands talking with them. Through the open door we see the vineyard with its long rows of young vines. Here is strength waiting for work. Here is work waiting for strength. The two are just upon the point of touching one another. There is no sense of exhaustion anywhere. Everything shines with vigor and hope. There is no limit to the work which we dream may be done before the day is over. The exhilaration of beginning fills the verses.
A man has faded out of the real happiness and strength of life who does not know what that exhilaration is, who does not feel the brightness of the picture which this verse draws. It is sad indeed when any man comes to that state in which each new day does not seem in some true sense to begin the world anew, recalling every departed hope and brightening every faded color of the night before. There is a human instinct which tells us that our life, while it is meant to have a great continuousness and to be always one, is no less meant to be full of new starts, to be ever refreshing its forces and beginning once again. The true proportion between these two feelings, between the sense of continuity and the sense of ever new beginning, makes the finest, the freshest, and the primest life. We may picture to ourselves two rivers of wholly different kinds. One is a great, broad, quiet stream, ever moving swiftly but smoothly on, unbroken by rapids, majestic in its calm and noble monotony, each mile of its great course seeming like every other mile, so perfectly and evidently is it everywhere itself. Its great thought is continuity. The other river is a mountain torrent. Broken and stopped perpetually it is always gathering itself up in a pool, at the foot of the rock that stopped it, for a fresh start. It is always full of new beginnings. It is different in each mile of its course from what it is in every other mile; when it grows calm for a moment it seems as if it had wholly stopped, until it finds an outlet and plunges down another precipice, and with a new cascade begins its life again. Like the first stream, like the majestic and continuous river, is the life of God. Continuousness and identity is our great thought of Him,
“From everlasting to everlasting thou art God,” we cry. Full of movement, the impression of His life is stillness, like the impression of the vast and solemn Nile. But like the mountain torrent is the life of man. With a true continuity, so that it is the same life from its beginning to its end, it yet forever is refreshing its vitality with new beginnings. It loves to turn sharp comers into unseen ways. It loves to gather itself into knots and then start out with the new birth of a new resolution. It loves to take into itself the streams of newborn lives that its monotony may be refreshed with their freshness. It is wonderful how ingenious men will be in making artificial new starts in their lives, as if at midday they shut up the house and lighted all the lamps and made believe that it was night, only in order that in a moment they might fling the shutters back again as if a new moming had come with its enthusiasm. So all live men covet the exhilaration of beginning.
I want to speak today about beginnings or new starts in life. It is a subject which the time suggests. For, beside the aspect of perpetual renewal of which I have been speaking, life here among us in these days has a peculiar look of newness which belongs to the season and the place. The essential power of a new beginning, then, seems to be very simple. It is that it recalls and freshens the principle and fundamental motive under which a work is done, and so keeps it from degenerating into mechanical routine. When the stream starts over a new fall it cannot help being conscious anew of its own fluidness and of the force of gravitation. It is the renewed sense of these things, of what it is and of what a great power is at work upon it, that sparkles in it and fills it full of life as it begins its new career, which is simply the old career with its fundamental consciousness freshened and revived. And so when a man starts afresh, either with the newness of a new day, or with the stimulus of altered circumstances, or with the inspiration of a new work, what his new start ought to do for him is to refresh the deepest principles by which he lives. You feel the engine when the steamer starts. After that when the steamer is on its long monotonous voyage you feel as if the machinery moved itself. So in a new beginning men ought to feel, and in some way more or less real and clear they do feel, what they are and what great powers are at work upon them, as they do not ordinarily feel these things in common times.
Let us keep all this in our mind as we come back and stand in the bright morning light which floods the vineyard gate where the laborers of the parable are just beginning their day’s work. “When the householder had agreed with them for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.” In that verse, taken as the story of the way in which human life as a whole and also of the way in which any special department or enterprise of human life begins, there are two ideas which we may examine and develop in succession. One of them is the idea of mission. The other is the idea of wages. First the master of the vineyard sends the men to do their work, and second he agrees with them for “a penny a day.” We will look at these two ideas in relation to the great new starts or beginnings that come in every full human life.
I. First the idea of mission. “He sent them in his vineyard.” “He,” in the parable, means God in human life. See what a personality steps at once into the story and see how, when it once is there, it cannot be left out again. The whole story lives and moves and has its being in that central person, by whose sending the laborers start out on their day’s work. Suppose at first that you did not see the householder. Suppose you only saw a host of workmen with their tools streaming in through an open vineyard gate. “What are they going for?” you say. The answer must be one of two. Either it is the mere pleasure of the exercise they love, as when a company of boys go hurrying to a fruitless, profitless game of ball, for the pure pleasure of the game, or else it is the desire for something that they are to get, some profits, some reward that lies waiting for them in the vineyard. Both of these are conceivable, both are legitimate motives. And motives which correspond to both of them come in legitimately at every beginning in our lives. Any new undertaking of ours may properly be inspired by the pleasure which we find in its execution and by the advantage which it will bring to us when it is finished. But now put in the householder. Set him in your picture beside the vineyard gate. Make every laborer who passes in pass under his inspection, go in by his commission, and then have you not put another motive in which does not exclude the others but surrounds and comprehends them? Now you ask any laborer why he is there, and pointing back to the master at the gate, he says, “He sent me.” No matter how much any laborer might love the work or want the profits, he would have no right to be there unless the householder had sent him in. Do you not see the parable? Whenever any man believes that God has given him a work to do that belief becomes the great motive of his labor. It does not exclude the others, but it overshadows and, as it were, includes them. Still the man may find the work delightful and may expect from it a great result, but when you ask him why he does it, he rises from his happy toil and points back to where God stands beside the gate and says, “He sent me.” However he might love the work, whatever advantage he might look for from it, he would have no right to be doing it if God had not sent him.
Every work ought to begin simply and with one clear simple motive. It is not pleasant to hear the beginner in any work talk too far-looking talk, anticipate the gain that lies for him far away when his work shall have been successful. Prophecies are too doubtful, and this anticipative spirit is too apt to be discouraged. Some cloud comes between the beginner and his vision of the end, and his impulse is all gone. Nor is it pleasant to hear the new worker congratulating himself that his work is pleasant, that he loves it, and trusting to that love for his energy and his persistence. There will surely come times when the love will grow dull, when the enthusiasm will flicker. What then? There must be some authority that impels as well as some attraction that invites. Not merely a bright vineyard but a majestic master of the vineyard there must be. All serious men have craved a master as well as a task. Some workers call their master duty. Others wiser and devouter call him “God,” but all have done their best work only when they were not merely called by the thing that was to be done but sent by him for whom they were to do it. It is like the going of the arrow out of the bow. The starting arrow is only conscious of the string, not yet has it any perception of the target. You question it as it goes flying past you, and ask it why it takes that track, and its reply is not “Because the target stands this way” but “Because this way the bow-string sent me.” It is only in going where the bow-string sent it that the arrow finds first the joy of the rushing air and then at last the satisfaction as it buries itself into the very centre of the target.
“Like arrows in the hand of a giant so are the young children,” says the Psalm. The child’s life is marked by this, that it is conscious of impulse far more than of aim. It does all that it does because its father sent it, not because the essential attractiveness of the task invited it. If the task’s attractiveness is felt it is as an accidental pleasure, not as the main motive. The main motive is the Father’s will. And in God’s family we are all children always. We are God’s arrows. Not because the end attracts us, but because He says to us “Go” must be the main motive for our going. This is so clear in the life of Jesus, the perfect Son of God. No man ever felt as He felt the essential joy of holy work. No man ever saw as He saw the glorious fruits of holiness. And yet it was not for these at last that He always said that He was holy. The last, the deepest, and the strongest reason was that his Father sent Him. “I came down from heaven not to do mine own will but the will of Him that sent me.” Those are the key words of His life. And these words do not necessarily mean, I beg you to observe, that his will was contrary to the will of Him who sent him. They apply even when the wills are just the same. Then it meant everything to Jesus that the action which he did, though outwardly it would have been just the same act in either case, was done not because he wanted to do it, though he did, but because his Father wanted him to do it.” Father, not my will but thine be done,” Jesus was always saying even when there was no difference in what the two wills separately would have chosen. In that word “Father” lies the commission of his life. Only to a father would one have a right to say that, but when one once knew God to be his father there could be no other real completion of his life, no other crowning and filling of it with its consummate motive.
I am afraid this looks to some of you like foolish subtlety, but, indeed, my friends, it is not so. Let me try to apply it more closely and show how prac- tical it is. I said that there were certain different beginnings in men’s lives to which the parable of our text might be applied. In every full life, in the life of every man who goes through the whole circle of what a man ought to be, there must be at least three such beginnings or new starts, and to each of those three we may apply what I have just been saying. These three beginnings are: i. Youth, or the start of the physical life. 2. The choice of occupation or the deliberate selection of one’s work; and 3. Religious consecration or the entrance of the soul in its deeper life with God. No man lives completely who does not at least start in each of these three roads. O, think of it, you to whom only the first beginning has any recognizable reality. You who were born, but who have never entered upon any work upon the earth and who have known nothing whatever of that deeper birth in which the spirit takes up a willing loyalty to God. This is the measure of your wretched incompleteness. Judged by the standard of the completest human being, does it not seem as if you were really nearer to the brutes than to Him. For you have entered upon only the first and lowest of careers, and even for that it may be, as we shall see, that you have not begun to conceive the true motive which gives it its real value.
Take the mere physical beginning. How beautiful it is! It is not confined to any one moment when the new-born being first catches with a gasp our earthly air. It runs through all those bright and happy years which we call youth, the years in which the physical life is always coming to some new relation to the earth where it has freshly come. Youth is but one long birth. The leaping of new tastes, the timid trying of new skills, the ripening of the senses in answer to the skies they see and the world full of melody which they are ever hearing. Youth is one long bright being born— one rich and gradual beginning. And what shall be its consciousness, its great prevailing feeling about this life that lies before it? O my young friends, the world is beautiful and every breath of your young life is happiness. You have a full right to feel that! And life is full of promise. There are great prizes to be gained in this great world with which your relations grow completer every day.
But those are not all. These two are like two flowers which need a stem to hold them and to give them life. If they have no stem and try to live alone, they are doomed to wither. The stem must be the consciousness of God, God as the sender and the source of life. The instant that consciousness stands up firm and complete everything else takes its true place and value. The beauty of the flowers means something when they hang upon the stem. It means seed and endless perpetuity of growth. A young man to whom life stretching out before him is not merely something which attracts him for himself but something to which God has sent him with a commission to live peculiarly his own, to him youth gets its full glory. His spirit, as he gazes forth into the future, is full at once of humility and hope. Into his beginning work there comes a noble union of energy and repose. Responsibility becomes to him an inspiration, not a weight.
There is an utter absence of frivolity, a perfect seriousness, and at the same time an absolute buoyancy and joy. Is not that what we all want to see in youth as its chief glory. There is a youth which sets forth on the sea of life as apleasure yacht sails from her moorings on a summer morning. All is gay and bright and trifling, all is light and laughter. She sails because the wind is fair and the sea smooth.
No one bids her go and there is no port for her to seek. There is another youth whose start is like the sailing of a great deep-freighted ship. There is no less joy and exhilaration, but there is no laughter. Faces are serious. Still the sweet freshness in the breeze, the sunlight on the water, bring their influence of happiness, but there is so much underneath. This ship is sent. Great interests are embarked in her. She is freighted with sacred hopes. And so she sails forth in the silence of a joy that does not break out in chattering talk. Such is the sacred joy that fills a child’s, a young man’s, or young woman’s life to whom the simplest and greatest of all truths has come, that they are going forth into life sent by God. That just as truly as He sent Moses, David, Paul, Luther, God has sent them into life out of His own great hand. O parents, what a task and privilege is yours to make God so real to your children’s life that they shall know that He did send them; and so to make God great and true and sweet and good to your children’s first thoughts of Him, that they shall rejoice and triumph in the knowledge that they are sent by such a God as He is.
II. The second beginning which I spoke of was the start of a new occupation, the deliberate entrance by a young man upon what is to be the profession of his life. With regard to that time I think that all of us who have seen many men will bear witness that it is just there that very many men grow narrow, and, from being broad in sympathies, large, generous, humane, before, even in all the crudity of theu” boyhood, the moment of the choice of their profession seems to make them limited and special, shuts them up between narrow walls, makes them uninteresting to all the world outside their little work, and makes all the world outside their little work uninteresting to them. It is not strange. The works that men must do to live become more and more special and absorbing. Anybody who thinks about it sees that the escape must be not in the worker refusing to do one work and undertaking to do all things. It must be in his doing his one thing in a larger spirit. Where shall that larger spirit come from? The spirit of an act comes from its motive. There must be a larger motive then. And the largest of all motives is the sending of God, the commission of Him who is the Father of us all. When the young lawyer dares to believe beyond the pleasure which he finds in the practice of the law, beyond the fortune or the fame that he hopes to make out of it, that God sent him there, that the fitness for it which he has found in his character and circumstances is something more than a lucky accident, is a true sign of the inten- tion concerning him of the dear, wise God; when a young lawyer dares to believe this, two great blessings come to him out of so high a faith : first he is armed against the lower temptations of his profession, and second, he is kept in cordial sympathy with all other children of God who are trying to find and follow the same Father’s intentions concerning them, though in works utterly different from his. The true salvation from the sordidness and narrowness of professional life comes only with a profound faith that God sent us to be the thing we are, to do the work that we are doing.
III. And then with regard to the third great beginning which comes in every man’s life who lives completely, the beginning of conscious religion, of the deliberate consecration to God and culture of the soul. It begins in every kind of way, suddenly with one man, gradually with another. With one man like the swift illumination of a flash of lightning, with another man like the slow brightening of the dawn; but to all men who come to their full life it surely comes by that unchangeable necessity which is in the words of Jesus, “Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God”; and no man truly lives who does not see that kingdom. But of this deeper life, the life of spiritual struggle, of prayer, of search after divine communion, the life that sacrifices the body for the soul, that hopes for heaven and overcomes the world by faith, of this life so misty and vague to many men, so much realler than all realities besides to every man who lives it, what is the motive power? Why do the best souls undertake it? The simplest answer is the truest, I believe. Because God calls them into it. Ask me why I am a Christian, and I may say, ” Because the Christian life is satisfactory and full of daily sweetness,” or I may say, “Because in the certain distance hangs the prize of everlasting life.” Both are good answers. But suppose I say, “Because God bade me be.” That is a better answer. It includes both the others. The soul that makes it is sure of happiness and reward not by its own direct perception of them but because they are involved in the very nature of God, in obedience to whose authority it gives itself to Him. It makes the persistence of the Christian life depend not on the constancy of our emotions but on the unremitting sense of the Divine authority. The best and noblest Christians, I am sure, have always most loved to give this simplest account of their experience. “Why are you
in the vineyard?” “Because He sent me,” that is all.
Afterward the perception of the sweetness of the work, but first of all because He sent me. O my young friends to whom the soul’s life with its vast hopes and mysterious joys is just opening, I beg you to set at the gate through which you enter into it the simple authority of your master. Come to your Lord because He calls you. As John and James came off the lake where they were fishing; as Matthew came out of the shop where he was gathering taxes; for only to the soul that first gives itself to Him in unquestioning obedience can Christ give himself in unhindered love.
I must pass on to say a few words on what we saw to be the second point suggested in our text, namely, the wages which were promised to those whom the master sent into his vineyard.” When he had agreed with them for a penny a day he sent them into his vineyard.” The first thing that strikes us is that there should be any wages. It is that truth of covenant, that picture of a bargain between God and man which runs through all the Bible, and has often given much trouble to very spiritual and unselfish hearts. “Can I not give myself to God and God promise me nothing? Must I have a promise of advantage to myself, to watch every consecration of myself to Him whom I love better than my life? Is not the “penny a day” an intrusion and offence coming in between me and my Lord?” Such thoughts have come to many minds. I know but one answer. The master owes something to himself as well as to his laborers. He owes it to himself to recognize the service that they give him. Not even from the child will the father take a wholly unacknowledged duty. The “penny a day” is wages, but it is wages raised to its highest power in love. It is valuable not for itself alone, but as the token of the master’s recognition of the service. In other words, I think we have the perpetual recurrence of the covenant idea all through the Bible until something of it appears even in the mystery of the Atonement, and the precious sacrifice of Calvary is called the “Blood of the Everlasting Covenant”; we have in all this not a degradation of the spiritual relations to a commercial sordidness, we have rather an exaltation of the essential idea of commerce, an assertion of the invariable and beautiful reciprocity which runs through all the universe; a declaration that righteousness and justice, the return of like for like, is not an arbitrary arrangement, which can be tampered with or repealed, but is in the very nature of all things and beings because it is in the nature of Him from whom all things and beings come.
And then, if the idea of wages need not trouble us, see what the special wages are which the Lord offers. He agreed with them for a penny a day. It was no outright gift, given in bulk, one large, round sum with which He fastened their allegiance. It was to be a daily payment. Evening by evening they were to come to him, and only gradually should the money accumulate and grow large in their hands. What picture could more truly show the way in which the Lord gives His rewards to all His servants? What could more truly set before us all the kind of promise which He makes us as we begin our life, or our profession, or our soul’s experience at His command! Not in one complete gift is physical life bestowed on any child. “A penny a day” is the promise which is fulfilled in the slow development of the vital powers which goes on all through the infancy and early years. Not all at once are the fruits of a new career or profession put into the eager hands of the young aspirant. “A penny a day” comes scholarship to the scholar, power to the statesman, wealth to the merchant. Not all at once does the new Christian win the completeness of his Saviour’s grace. “A penny a day “! “A penny a day”! so only does the soul grow rich, so only are truthfulness, courage, humility, patience, love, faithfulness given to the soul and made its own. Surely it is a kind warning of the master at the open gate. He will not have us disappointed. O, hear His warning, you who are taking any of His invitations. You cannot take it all at once. Even to His Incarnate Son God gave life in slow development. What wonder if to us it comes with a slowness that makes us often despair; and yet when it does come completely we shall know that except as it was thus slowly given it never could have been made really ours at all.
There is a reason for this method of God’s gifts which we soon learn to know. It lies in two truths. The first is that the very nature of the soul itself requires it. The soul appropriates slowly. A torrent drowns the soil which a rain would make fertile. There is such a thing as a soul gorged with blessing and not fed.
And the other reason is still truer and deeper. The object of God’s giving us any gift is not that we may possess the gift, but that through the possession of the gift we may possess Him. The gift is a pledge to assure us of His presence and His love. God’s gifts are given to us not like robes to clothe us in. The only robe in which we can be clothed is He Himself, His righteousness made truly ours not in an unreal, artificial sense, but really, truly. The gifts He gives us are the clasps that hold the robe about us — not the robe. Therefore it is that they are given only as they are required. Not once for all, so that we might take them on our shoulders and go away and forget the Giver, but day by day, so that each day the day’s gift might make the giver real and so all life be filled with Him.
I have spoken mainly to the young today. At least, they have been mostly in my mind as I have spoken. To them the exhilaration of beginning is an ever-present consciousness. Thank God life may be always so full of new beginnings that it never need be stale to any of us. And before us all there always is the great beginning of the everlasting life to keep us always young. Aye, even to make us count ourselves as babes unborn. But to the young the sense of starting is the great prevailing sense of life. I wish that something I have said to-day might make you feel how noble and rich the opening of any life becomes when at the very gate it comes to agreement with God. It is a beautiful moment when with life before you, with your work before you, with your soul’s salvation before you, you stand first with Him beside the gate and let Him, when He has agreed with you for a penny a day, send you into His vineyard. I dare to think that some of you are standing there with Him now ; that while I speak it is that moment, awful and glorious for some of you, in which, while those who sit beside you in the pew cannot guess at what is passing, you are giving yourself to Him and taking Him to be yours for all your life. If it is so, may He make the consecration perfect and keep you always faithful with His great surrounding love!

Hymn for Today:
“In Christ There Is No East or West” by John Oxenham (sts 1, 2, 4); (st 3–not shown) Laurence Hull Stookey
1. In Christ there is no east or west,
in him no south or north;
but one great fellowship of love
throughout the whole wide earth.
2. In Christ shall true hearts everywhere
their high communion find;
his service is the golden cord
close binding humankind.
3. (Words copr.)
4. In Christ now meet both east and west,
in him meet south and north;
all Christly souls are one in him
throughout the whole wide earth.

Through the Bible in One Year:
Joshua 1 to 10
1 When Moses, servant of Yahweh, was dead, Yahweh spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ adjutant. He said,
2 ‘Moses my servant is dead; go now and cross this Jordan, you and this whole people, into the country which I am giving to them (the Israelites).
3 Every place you tread with the soles of your feet I shall give you, as I declared to Moses that I would.
4 From the desert and the Lebanon, to the Great River, the Euphrates (the entire country of the Hittites), and as far as the Great Sea to westward, is to be your territory.
5 As long as you live, no one will be able to resist you; I shall be with you as I was with Moses; I shall not fail you or desert you.
6 ‘Be strong and stand firm, for you are the man to give this people possession of the land which I swore to their ancestors that I would give them.
7 Only be strong and stand very firm and be careful to keep the whole Law which my servant Moses laid down for you. Do not swerve from this either to right or to left, and then you will succeed wherever you go.
8 Have the book of this Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may carefully keep everything that is written in it. Then your undertakings will prosper, then you will have success.
9 Have I not told you: Be strong and stand firm? Be fearless and undaunted, for go where you may, Yahweh your God is with you.’
10 Joshua then gave the people’s officials this instruction:
11 ‘Go through the camp and give the people this order, “Make provisions ready, for in three days’ time you will cross this Jordan and go on to take possession of the land which Yahweh your God is giving you as your own.” ‘
12 Joshua then said to the Reubenites and Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh,
13 ‘Remember the order given you by Moses, servant of Yahweh: Yahweh your God, in bringing you to rest, has given you the land where we are.
14 Your wives, your little ones and your cattle must stay in the country given you by Moses beyond the Jordan. But all you fighting men must cross in battle formation at the head of your brothers and help them,
15 until Yahweh grants rest to your brothers and you alike, when they too have taken possession of the land which Yahweh your God is giving to them. Then you may go back and take possession of the land which belongs to you and which Moses, servant of Yahweh, has given you on the eastern side of the Jordan.’
16 They answered Joshua, ‘We will do whatever you order us, and wherever you send us we will go.
17 We obeyed Moses in everything, and now we will obey you. Only may Yahweh your God be with you as he was with Moses!
18 If anyone rebels against your orders or will not listen to your commands, let him be put to death. Only be strong and stand firm.’
1 From Shittim, Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men to reconnoitre. He said, ‘Go and explore the country and Jericho.’ They left; they went into the house of a prostitute called Rahab, to spend the night there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, ‘Some men have come here tonight from the Israelites, to reconnoitre the country.’
3 The king of Jericho then sent a message to Rahab, ‘Send out the men who came to you and are lodging in your house, for they have come to reconnoitre the whole country.’
4 But the woman took the two men and hid them. ‘It is true,’ she said, ‘the men did come to me, but I did not know where they came from.
5 When the city gate was about to be closed at nightfall, the men went out and I cannot say where they have gone. Follow them quickly and you will overtake them.’
6 She had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under some stalks of flax which she had laid out there.
7 The men hurried in pursuit of them towards the Jordan, as far as the fords, and the gate was shut once the pursuers had gone through.
8 The two men had not yet settled down for the night when Rahab came up to them on the roof.
9 She said to them, ‘I know that Yahweh has given you this country, that we are afraid of you and that everyone living in this country has been seized with terror at your approach;
10 for we have heard how Yahweh dried up the Sea of Reeds before you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two Amorite kings across the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you put under the curse of destruction.
11 When we heard this, our hearts failed us, and now no one has any courage left to resist you, since Yahweh your God is God both in heaven above and on earth beneath.
12 So, swear to me now by Yahweh, since I have been kind to you,
13 that you in your turn will be kind to my father’s family; and give me a sure sign of this: that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters and all who belong to them, and will preserve us from death.’
14 The men replied, ‘We pledge you our lives, provided that you say nothing about our mission. When Yahweh has given us the country, we shall treat you kindly and faithfully.’
15 She then let them down from the window on a rope, as her house was against the city wall and she actually lived in the wall.
16 ‘Make for the hills,’ she said, ‘or you may run into your pursuers. Hide there for three days, until your pursuers have come back, and then go on your way.’
17 The men said, ‘This is how we shall fulfil the oath which you have made us swear:
18 when we invade the country, you must tie this scarlet cord to the window from which you let us down, and collect your father, mother, brothers and entire family inside your house.
19 If anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head and we shall not be to blame; but the blood of all staying inside the house with you will be on our heads if a hand is laid on any of them.
20 But if you divulge our mission in the meanwhile, we shall be free of the oath which you have made us swear.’
21 She replied, ‘Let it be as you say.’ She let them go, and they left. She then tied the scarlet cord to the window.
22 They left and made for the hills. They stayed there for three days, until their pursuers had gone home, having scoured the countryside without finding them.
23 The two men then came down again from the hills, crossed over and, going to Joshua son of Nun, told him everything that had happened to them.
24 To Joshua they said, ‘Yahweh has put the whole country at our mercy, and its inhabitants are all panic-stricken at our approach.’
1 Early in the morning, Joshua struck camp and set out from Shittim with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan and there they camped before they crossed.
2 Three days later, the officials went through the camp
3 and gave the people these instructions, ‘When you see the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God being carried by the levitical priests, you will leave your position and follow it,so that you may know which way to take, since you have never gone this way before. Between you and the ark, however, keep a distance of about two thousand cubits: do not go near it.’
4 Between you and the ark, however, keep a distance of about two thousand cubits: do not go near it.’
5 Joshua said to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves, since tomorrow Yahweh will work wonders among you.’
6 Joshua then said to the priests, ‘Take up the ark of the covenant and cross at the head of the people.’ They took up the ark of the covenant and moved to the head of the people.
7 Yahweh said to Joshua, ‘This very day, I shall begin to make you great in the eyes of all Israel so that they will know that, as I was with Moses, so I shall be with you.
8 Now, give this order to the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, “When you have reached the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you must halt in the Jordan itself.” ‘
9 To the Israelites, Joshua then said, ‘Come closer and hear the words of Yahweh your God.’
10 Joshua said, ‘By this, you are to know that the living God is with you and without a doubt will expel the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites before you.
11 Look, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth is about to move into the Jordan at your head.
12 Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe.
13 As soon as the priests carrying the ark of Yahweh, Lord of the whole earth, have set the soles of their feet in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off; the upper waters flowing down will stop as a single mass.’
14 Accordingly, when the people left their tents to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of the people.
15 As soon as the bearers of the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the waters — the Jordan is in spate throughout the harvest season-
16 the upper waters stood still and formed a single mass over a great distance, at Adam, the town near Zarethan, while those flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely separated. The people crossed opposite Jericho.
17 The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood firm on dry ground in mid-Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until the whole nation had completed its crossing of the Jordan.
1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, Yahweh spoke to Joshua and said,
2 ‘Choose twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, and give them this order,
3 “Here, from mid-Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet were standing, take twelve stones; carry them with you and set them down in the camp where you pass the night.” ‘
4 Joshua called the twelve men whom he had selected from the Israelites, one man from each tribe,
5 and Joshua said to them, ‘Go on ahead of the ark of Yahweh your God into mid-Jordan, and each of you take one stone on his shoulder, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel,
6 to make this a sign among you; and when, in the future, your children ask you, “What do these stones mean for you?”
7 you will then tell them, “The waters of the Jordan separated before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the river separated. These stones are an everlasting reminder of this to the Israelites.”
8 The Israelites did as Joshua ordered; they took twelve stones from mid-Jordan corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel, as Yahweh had told Joshua; they carried them over to the camp and set them down there.
9 Joshua then erected twelve stones in mid-Jordan, on the spot where the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are still there today.
10 The priests carrying the ark stood still in mid-Jordan, until everything had been done that Yahweh had ordered Joshua to tell the people (in accordance with everything that Moses had ordered Joshua); and the people hurried across.
11 When the people had finished crossing, the ark of Yahweh then crossed, with the priests, to the head of the people.
12 The sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed in battle formation at the head of the Israelites, as Moses had told them.
13 Some forty thousand warriors in arms, they crossed in Yahweh’s presence, ready for battle, towards the plain of Jericho.
14 That day, Yahweh made Joshua great in the eyes of all Israel, who respected him as they had respected Moses, as long as he lived.
15 Yahweh said to Joshua,
16 ‘Order the priests carrying the ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan.’
17 And Joshua gave the order to the priests, ‘Come up, out of the Jordan!’
18 Now, when the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came up out of mid-Jordan, no sooner had the soles of the priests’ feet touched solid ground, than the waters of the Jordan returned to their bed and ran on, in spate as before.
19 It was the tenth day of the first month when the people came up from the Jordan and made their camp at Gilgal, on the eastern border of Jericho.
20 As regards those twelve stones, which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set them up at Gilgal.
21 He then said to the Israelites, ‘When, in the future, your children ask their fathers, “What are these stones?”
22 you will explain to your children, “Israel crossed this Jordan dry-shod.
23 For Yahweh your God dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of you until you had crossed, just as Yahweh your God did to the Sea of Reeds, which he dried up before us until we had crossed it;
24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know how mighty the hand of Yahweh is, and always stand in awe of Yahweh your God.” ‘
1 When all the kings of the Amorites living to westward across the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites living on the seaboard, heard that Yahweh had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed, their hearts failed and they lost all courage to resist the Israelites.
2 At this time Yahweh said to Joshua, ‘Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again (a second time).
3 Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites on the Hill of Foreskins.
4 The reason why Joshua circumcised them was this. All the males of the people who had come out of Egypt of age to bear arms had died in the desert on their journey after leaving Egypt.
5 Now, all the people who came out had been circumcised; but none of those born in the desert, during the journey, after leaving Egypt, had been circumcised;
6 for the Israelites walked the desert for forty years, until the whole nation had died out, that is, the men who had come out of Egypt of age to bear arms; they had not obeyed the voice of Yahweh, and Yahweh had sworn to them never to let them see the land which he had sworn to their ancestors that he would give us a land flowing with milk and honey.
7 But in place of these he set their sons, and these were the ones whom Joshua circumcised: they were uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised during the journey.
8 When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they stayed resting in the camp till they were well again.
9 Yahweh then said to Joshua, ‘Today I have taken the shame of Egypt away from you.’ Hence, the place has been called Gilgal ever since.
10 The Israelites pitched their camp at Gilgal and kept the Passover there on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the plain of Jericho.
11 On the very next day after the Passover, they ate what the land produced, unleavened bread and roasted ears of corn.
12 The manna stopped the day after they had eaten the produce of the land. The Israelites from that year onwards ate the produce of Canaan and had no more manna.
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him, grasping a naked sword. Joshua walked towards him and said to him, ‘Are you on our side or on that of our enemies?’
14 He replied, ‘On neither side. I have come now as the captain of the army of Yahweh.’ Joshua fell on his face to the ground, worshipping him, and said, ‘What has my Lord to say to his servant?’
15 The captain of the army of Yahweh answered Joshua, ‘Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so.
1 Now, Jericho had shut and barricaded its gates (against the Israelites): no one came out and no one went in.
2 Yahweh then said to Joshua, ‘Look, I am putting Jericho, its picked troops and its king, at your mercy.
3 All you warriors must march round the city (go right round the city once, doing the same on six successive days.
4 Seven priests must carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. On the seventh day, you will go seven times round the city and the priests will blow their trumpets).
5 When the ram’s horn sounds (when you hear the sound of the trumpet), the entire people must utter a mighty war cry and the city wall will collapse then and there; the people will then go into the assault, each man straight ahead.’
6 Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, ‘Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets ahead of the ark of Yahweh.’
7 To the people he then said, ‘Forward! March round the city, and let the vanguard march ahead of the ark of Yahweh!’
8 (Everything was done as Joshua had given orders to the people.) Seven priests, carrying seven ram’s-horn trumpets ahead of Yahweh, moved forward blowing their trumpets; the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came behind them,
9 the vanguard marched ahead of the priests, who blew their trumpets, the rearguard followed behind the ark; the men marched, the trumpets sounded.
10 Joshua had given the people the following orders, ‘Do not raise a war cry, do not let your voice be heard (not a word must pass your lips), until the day when I say, “Raise the war cry.” That is when you must raise the war cry.’
11 He made the ark go round the city (going round it once), then they went back to camp, where they spent the night.
12 Joshua got up early, and the priests took up the ark of Yahweh.
13 Carrying the seven ram’s-horn trumpets, the seven priests walked ahead of the ark of Yahweh, blowing their trumpets as they went, while the vanguard marched ahead of them and the rearguard behind the ark of Yahweh, and the march went on to the sound of the trumpet.
14 They marched once round the city (on the second day) and went back to camp; and so on for six days.
15 On the seventh day, they got up at dawn and marched (in the same manner) round the city seven times. (This was the only day when they marched round the city seven times.)
16 At the seventh time, the priests blew their trumpets and Joshua said to the people, ‘Raise the war cry, for Yahweh has given you the city!
17 ‘The city and everyone in it must be devoted to Yahweh under the curse of destruction; the life of Rahab the prostitute alone must be spared, with all those with her in her house, since she hid the messengers we sent.
18 But beware of the curse of destruction, yourselves, for fear that, moved by greed, you take something lying under the curse; that would put the camp of Israel under the same curse and bring disaster on it.
19 All the silver and all the gold, everything made of bronze or iron, will be consecrated to Yahweh and put in his treasury.’
20 The people raised the war cry, the trumpets sounded. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, they raised a mighty war cry and the wall collapsed then and there. At once the people stormed the city, each man going straight forward; and they captured the city.
21 They enforced the curse of destruction on everyone in the city: men and women, young and old, including the oxen, the sheep and the donkeys, slaughtering them all.
22 Joshua said to the two men who had reconnoitred the country, ‘Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring the woman out with all who belong to her, as you swore to her that you would.’
23 The young men who had been spies went and brought Rahab out, with her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out all her clansmen too, and put them in a place of safety outside the camp of Israel.
24 They burned the city and everything inside it, except the silver, the gold and the things of bronze and iron; these they put into the treasury of Yahweh’s house.
25 But Rahab the prostitute, her father’s family and all who belonged to her, these Joshua spared. She is still living in Israel even today, for having hidden the messengers whom Joshua sent to reconnoitre Jericho.
26 At that time Joshua made them take this oath before Yahweh: Accursed before Yahweh be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city (Jericho)! On his first-born will he lay its foundations, on his youngest son set up its gates!
27 So Yahweh was with Joshua, whose fame spread throughout the country.
1 But the Israelites were unfaithful to the curse of destruction. Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took something that fell under the curse of destruction, and the anger of Yahweh was aroused against the Israelites.
2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai (which is near Beth-Aven), to the east of Bethel, having said to them, ‘Go up and reconnoitre the country.’ They went up and reconnoitred Ai.
3 Coming back to Joshua, they said, ‘There is no need for the whole people to go up; let some two or three thousand go and attack Ai. Spare the whole people such an effort; there are only a few of them!’
4 Of the people, some three thousand marched up, but these broke before the people of Ai,
5 who killed some thirty-six of them and pursued them from the town gate as far as Shebarim, and on the slope cut them to pieces. The hearts of the people melted away and turned to water.
6 Joshua then tore his clothes and prostrated himself before the ark of Yahweh till nightfall; the elders of Israel did the same, and all poured dust on their heads.
7 And Joshua said, ‘Alas, Lord Yahweh, why did you bother to bring this nation across the Jordan, if it was only to put us at the mercy of the Amorites and destroy us? If only we could have settled down on the other side of the Jordan!
8 Forgive me, Lord, but what can I say, now that Israel has turned tail on the enemy?
9 The Canaanites, all the inhabitants of the land, will hear of it; they will unite against us to wipe our name from the earth. And what will you do about your great Name then?’
10 Yahweh said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! Why are you lying prostrate like this?
11 Israel has sinned; they have violated the covenant which I imposed on them. They have gone so far as to take what was under the curse of destruction, they have even stolen it; they have actually hidden it; they have put it in their baggage.
12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand up to their foes, why they have turned tail on their enemies: because they have come under the curse of destruction themselves. Unless you get rid of the object among you which has been put under the curse of destruction, I shall be with you no longer.’
13 ‘Get up, sanctify the people and say, “Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, since Yahweh, the God of Israel, declares: The curse of destruction has now fallen on you, Israel; you will not be able to stand up to your enemies, until you have rid yourselves of that object which has been put under the curse of destruction.
14 Tomorrow morning, therefore, you will come forward tribe by tribe, and then the tribe which Yahweh selects by lot will come forward clan by clan, and the clan which Yahweh selects by lot will come forward family by family, and the family which Yahweh selects by lot will come forward mam by man.
15 And the man indicated by lot as regards the object which has been put under the curse of destruction will be delivered to the flames, he and all his possessions, for having violated the covenant with Yahweh and for having committed an infamy in Israel.” ‘
16 Joshua got up early; he made Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the lot indicated the tribe of Judah.
17 He summoned the clans of Judah, and the lot indicated the clan of Zerah. He summoned the clan of Zerah, family by family, and the lot indicated Zabdi.
18 Joshua then summoned the family of Zabdi, man by man, and the lot indicated Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah.
19 Joshua then said to Achan, ‘My son, give glory to Yahweh, God of Israel, and confess; tell me what you have done and hide nothing from me.’
20 Achan replied to Joshua, ‘Yes, I am the man who has sinned against Yahweh, God of Israel, and this is what I have done.
21 In the loot, I saw a fine robe from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and an ingot of gold weighing fifty shekels, I set my heart on them and I took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.’
22 Joshua sent messengers; they ran to the tent, and the robe was indeed hidden in the tent, with the silver underneath.
23 They took the things out of the tent and, bringing them to Joshua and all the Israelites, laid them out before Yahweh.
24 Joshua then took Achan son of Zerah and led him up to the Vale of Achor, with the silver and the robe and the ingot of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his goats, his tent and all his belongings. All Israel went with him.
25 Joshua said, ‘Why have you brought misfortune on us? Today may Yahweh bring misfortune on you!’ And all Israel stoned him to death (and they burned them and threw stones at them).
26 Over him, they raised a great mound of stones, which is still there today. Yahweh then relented from his fierce anger. That was why the place was called the Vale of Achor, as it still is today.
1 Yahweh then said to Joshua, ‘Be fearless and undaunted. Take all your fighting men with you. Up! March against Ai. Look, I have put the king of Ai, his people, his town and his territory at your mercy.
2 You must treat Ai and its king as you treated Jericho and its king. The only booty you will take are the spoils and the cattle. Take up a concealed position by the town, to the rear of it.’
3 Joshua set out to march against Ai with all the fighting men. Joshua chose thirty thousand of the bravest and sent them out under cover of dark,
4 having given them these orders, ‘Pay attention! You must take up a concealed position by the town, at the rear, not very far from the town, and be sure you all keep alert!
5 I, and the whole people with me, shall advance on the town, and when the people of Ai come out to engage us as they did the first time, we shall run away from them.
6 They will then give chase, and we shall draw them away from the town, since they will think, “They are running away from us as they did the first time.”
7 You will then burst out of your concealed position and seize the town; Yahweh your God will put it at your mercy.
8 When you have captured the town, set fire to it, in obedience to Yahweh’s command. Well then, these are my orders.’
9 Joshua sent them off, and they made their way to the place of ambush and took up position between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. Joshua spent the night with the people,
10 then, getting up early next morning, reviewed the people and, with the elders of Israel, marched on Ai at their head.
11 All the warriors marching with him advanced on the front of the town and pitched camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the town.
12 Joshua took about five thousand men and concealed these between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the town.
13 The people pitched the main camp to the north of the town and set up its ambush to the west of the town. Joshua went that night into the middle of the plain.
14 The king of Ai had seen this; the people of the town got up early and hurried out, so that he and all his people could engage Israel in battle on the slope facing the Arabah; but he did not know that an ambush had been laid for him to the rear of the town.
15 Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten by them and took to their heels along the road to the desert.
16 All the people in the town joined in the pursuit and, in pursuing Joshua, were drawn away from the town.
17 Not a man was left in Ai (nor in Bethel), who had not gone in pursuit of Israel; and in pursuing Israel they left the town undefended.
18 Yahweh then said to Joshua, ‘Point the sabre in your hand at Ai; for I am about to put the town at your mercy.’ Joshua pointed the sabre in his hand towards the town.
19 No sooner had he stretched out his hand than the men in ambush burst from their position, ran forward, entered the town, captured it and quickly set it on fire.
20 When the men of Ai looked back, they saw smoke rising from the town into the sky. None of them had the courage to run in any direction, for the people fleeing towards the desert turned back on their pursuers.
21 For, once Joshua and all Israel saw that the town had been seized by the men in ambush, and that smoke was rising from the town, they turned about and attacked the men of Ai.
22 The others came out from the town to engage them too, and the men of Ai were thus surrounded by Israelites, some on this side and some on that. The Israelites struck them down until not one was left alive and none to flee;
23 but the king of Ai was taken alive, and brought to Joshua.
24 When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open ground, and in the desert where they had pursued them, and when every single one had fallen to the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and slaughtered its remaining population.
25 The number of those who fell that day, men and women together, was twelve thousand, all people of Ai.
26 Joshua did not draw back the hand with which he had pointed the sabre until he had subjected all the inhabitants of Ai to the curse of destruction.
27 For booty, Israel took only the cattle and the spoils of this town, in accordance with the order that Yahweh had given to Joshua.
28 Joshua then burned Ai, making it a ruin for evermore, a desolate place even today.
29 He hanged the king of Ai from a tree till evening; but at sunset Joshua ordered his body to be taken down from the tree. It was then thrown down at the entrance to the town gate and on top of it was raised a great mound of stones, which is still there today.
30 Joshua then built an altar to Yahweh, God of Israel, on Mount Ebal,
31 as Moses, servant of Yahweh, had ordered the Israelites, as is written in the law of Moses: an altar of undressed stones, on which no iron has been used. On this they presented burnt offerings to Yahweh and communion sacrifices as well.
32 There, Joshua wrote on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses, which Moses had written in the presence of the Israelites.
33 All Israel, with their elders, their officials and their judges, stood on either side of the ark, facing the levitical priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, foreigners with the native-born, half of them on the upper slopes of Mount Ebal, as Moses, servant of Yahweh, had originally ordered for the blessing of the people of Israel.
34 After this, Joshua read all the words of the Law — the blessing and the cursing — exactly as it stands written in the Book of the Law.
35 Of every word laid down by Moses, not one was left unread by Joshua in the presence of the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners living with them.
1 Hearing these things, all the kings on this side of the Jordan, in the highlands and in the lowlands, all along the coast of the Great Sea towards the Lebanon, Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, with one consent
2 formed a fighting alliance against Joshua and Israel.
3 When the inhabitants of Gibeon learned how Joshua had treated Jericho and Ai, for their part,
4 they had recourse to a ruse. They provided themselves with supplies, and loaded their donkeys with old sacks and with old wineskins which had burst and been sewn up again.
5 They put on patched old sandals and worn-out clothes. The only bread they took with them to eat was dried up and crumbling.
6 They came to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal, and to him and the men of Israel they said, ‘We come from a distant country, so make a treaty with us.’
7 The Israelites answered these Hivites, ‘For all we know, you may live right among us. How then could we make a treaty with you?’
8 They said to Joshua, ‘We are your servants.’ ‘But who are you?’ Joshua asked them, ‘and where do you come from?’
9 They said, ‘Your servants have come from a country very far away, because of the fame of Yahweh your God; for we have heard of him and of all that he did in Egypt,
10 and of all that he did to the two Amorite kings who used to live on the other side of the Jordan: Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who used to live at Ashtaroth.
11 Because of which, our elders and all the people of our country said to us, “Take provisions with you for the journey; go and meet them and say to them: We are your servants; so make a treaty with us.”
12 Here is our bread; it was warm when we took it from home to provide for our journey the day we set out to come to you, and now, you can see, it is dried up and crumbling.
13 These wineskins were new when we filled them; you can see, they have burst; and these clothes and sandals of ours are worn out from travelling such a long way.’
14 The leaders sampled some of the food they offered, but they did not ask Yahweh’s orders.
15 Joshua made peace with them, and struck a treaty with them guaranteeing their lives, and the leaders of the community ratified it by oath.
16 Now it so happened that three days after the treaty had been made, it became known that they were a neighbouring people, living in Israel’s region.
17 The Israelites set out from camp, arriving in their towns three days later. Their towns were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath-Jearim.
18 The Israelites did not attack them, since the leaders of the community had sworn to them by Yahweh, God of Israel, but the whole community muttered against the leaders.
19 The leaders, however, all said to the whole community, ‘Since we have sworn an oath to them by Yahweh, God of Israel, we cannot touch them now.
20 This is what we shall do with them: let them live, rather than bring retribution down on ourselves on account of the oath which we have sworn to them.’
21 And the leaders went on, ‘Let them live, but let them be wood-cutters and water-carriers for the whole community.’ Thus spoke the leaders.
22 Joshua sent for the Gibeonites and asked them, ‘Why did you deceive us by saying, “We live very far away,” when in fact you live right among us?
23 From now on, you are accursed and will for ever be serfs, as wood-cutters and water-carriers in the house of my God.’
24 Their answer to Joshua was, ‘We did it because your servants had been rightly told that Yahweh your God had ordered his servant Moses to give you the whole of this country and destroy all its inhabitants before you; also because, as you advanced on us, we feared very greatly for our lives. That was why we did this.
25 Now, as you see, we are at your mercy; do to us whatever you think good and right.’
26 What he did with them was this: he saved them from the hand of the Israelites, who did not kill them.
27 But that very day Joshua made them wood-cutters and water-carriers for the community and for the altar of Yahweh, at the place which he would eventually choose; and so they are today.
1 Now, it happened that Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem, learned that Joshua had conquered Ai and put the town under the curse of destruction, treating Ai and its king as he had already treated Jericho and its king; and also that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living with them.
2 There was consternation at this, since Gibeon was as important a town as any of the royal towns themselves (it was larger than Ai), while all its citizens were fighting men.
3 Consequently, Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon,
4 ‘Join me up here and help me to conquer Gibeon, since it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.’
5 The five Amorite kings joined forces and went up there, that is, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish and the king of Eglon, they and all their armies; laying siege to Gibeon, they attacked it.
6 The men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal, ‘Do not desert your servants; come up here quickly to save us and help us, since all the Amorite kings living in the highlands have allied themselves against us.’
7 Joshua came up from Gilgal, he, all the fighting men and all the bravest of his army.
8 Yahweh said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of these people; I have put them at your mercy; not one of them will put up any resistance.’
9 Having marched from Gilgal throughout the night, Joshua caught them unawares.
10 Yahweh threw them into disorder at the sight of Israel, defeating them completely at Gibeon; furthermore, he pursued them by way of the Descent of Beth-Horon and harassed them as far as Azekah (and as far as Makkedah).
11 And as they fled from Israel down the Descent of Beth-Horon, Yahweh hurled huge hailstones from heaven on them all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them died under the hailstones than under the swords of the Israelites.
12 Joshua then spoke to Yahweh, the day Yahweh delivered the Amorites to the Israelites. In the presence of Israel, Joshua said: Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and, moon, you too, over the Vale of Aijalon!
13 And the sun stood still, and the moon halted, until the people had taken vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of the Just? The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting for almost a whole day.
14 There was never a day like that before or since, when Yahweh obeyed the voice of a man — for Yahweh was fighting for Israel.
15 Joshua, and all Israel with him, then went back to the camp at Gilgal.
16 As regards the five kings, these had fled and hidden in the cave of Makkedah,
17 and news of this was brought to Joshua. ‘The five kings have been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah.’
18 Joshua said, ‘Roll great stones over the mouth of the cave and post men there to keep guard.
19 You yourselves, do not stay there doing nothing; pursue the enemy, cut off their line of retreat and do not let them enter their towns, for Yahweh your God has put them at your mercy.’
20 When Joshua and the Israelites had finished inflicting a very great defeat on them, to the point of destroying them, those who had escaped alive took refuge in their fortresses.
21 The people came back to Joshua’s camp at Makkedah; they were all safe and sound, and no one dared to attempt anything against the Israelites.
22 Joshua then said, ‘Clear the mouth of the cave and bring the five kings out to me.’
23 They did so, and brought the five kings out of the cave to take them to him: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish and the king of Eglon.
24 When these kings had been brought out, Joshua assembled all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the warriors who had fought with him, ‘Come forward and put your feet on the necks of these kings!’ They came forward and put their feet on their necks.
25 ‘Be fearless and undaunted,’ Joshua went on, ‘be strong and stand firm, for this is how Yahweh will deal with all the enemies you fight.’
26 With this, Joshua struck and killed them and had them hanged on five trees; they hung there till evening.
27 At the hour of sunset, on Joshua’s orders, they were taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave where they had been hiding. Great stones were laid over the mouth of the cave, and these are still there to this very day.
28 The same day Joshua captured Makkedah, putting it and its king to the sword; he delivered them over to the curse of destruction, with every living creature there, and let no one escape, and he treated the king of Makkedah as he had treated the king of Jericho.
29 Joshua, and all Israel with him, went on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it
30 and Yahweh put this, too, and its king at Israel’s mercy; and Israel put every living creature there to the sword, and left none alive, and treated its king like the king of Jericho.
31 Joshua, and all Israel with him, went on from Libnah to Lachish and besieged it and attacked it.
32 Yahweh put Lachish at Israel’s mercy, and Israel took it on the second day and put it and every living creature in it to the sword, as they had treated Libnah.
33 Horam king of Gezer then marched up to help Lachish, but Joshua beat him and his people until not one was left alive.
34 Joshua, and all Israel with him, went on from Lachish to Eglon. They besieged it and attacked it.
35 The same day they took it and put it to the sword. That day he delivered over to the curse of destruction every living creature there, treating it as he had treated Lachish.
36 Joshua, and all Israel with him, went on up from Eglon to Hebron. They attacked it,
37 took it and put it to the sword, with its king, its dependencies and every living creature in it. As he had treated Eglon, so here, he left no one alive. He delivered it over to the curse of destruction, with every living creature in it.
38 Joshua, and all Israel with him, then turned back on Debir and attacked it.
39 He took it and its king and all the places belonging to it; they put them to the sword, and every living creature there they delivered over to the curse of destruction. He left no one alive. As he had treated Hebron, as he had treated Libnah and its king, so he treated Debir and its king.
40 Thus Joshua subjugated the whole country: the highlands, the Negeb, the lowlands and watered foothills, and all their kings. He left not one survivor and put every living thing under the curse of destruction, as Yahweh, God of Israel, had commanded.
41 Joshua conquered them from Kadesh-Barnea to Gaza, and the whole region of Goshen as far as Gibeon.
42 All these kings and their territory Joshua captured in a single campaign, because Yahweh, God of Israel, fought for Israel.
43 And then Joshua, and all Israel with him, went back to the camp at Gilgal.(New Jerusalem Bible)

Daily Office for Saturday, January 21, 2012:
Psalm 30
1 [Psalm Canticle for the Dedication of the House Of David] I praise you to the heights, Yahweh, for you have raised me up, you have not let my foes make merry over me.
2 Yahweh, my God, I cried to you for help and you healed me.
3 Yahweh, you have lifted me out of Sheol, from among those who sink into oblivion you have given me life.
4 Make music for Yahweh, all you who are faithful to him, praise his unforgettable holiness.
5 His anger lasts but a moment, his favour through life; In the evening come tears, but with dawn cries of joy.
6 Carefree, I used to think, ‘Nothing can ever shake me!’
7 Your favour, Yahweh, set me on impregnable heights, but you turned away your face and I was terrified.
8 To you, Yahweh, I call, to my God I cry for mercy.
9 What point is there in my death, my going down to the abyss? Can the dust praise you or proclaim your faithfulness?
10 Listen, Yahweh, take pity on me, Yahweh, be my help!
11 You have turned my mourning into dancing, you have stripped off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
12 So my heart will sing to you unceasingly, Yahweh, my God, I shall praise you for ever.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 32
1 [Of David Poem] How blessed are those whose offence is forgiven, whose sin blotted out.
2 How blessed are those to whom Yahweh imputes no guilt, whose spirit harbours no deceit.
3 I said not a word, but my bones wasted away from groaning all the day;
4 day and night your hand lay heavy upon me; my heart grew parched as stubble in summer drought.Pause
5 I made my sin known to you, did not conceal my guilt. I said, ‘I shall confess my offence to Yahweh.’ And you, for your part, took away my guilt, forgave my sin.Pause
6 That is why each of your faithful ones prays to you in time of distress. Even if great floods overflow, they will never reach your faithful.
7 You are a refuge for me, you guard me in trouble, with songs of deliverance you surround me.Pause
8 I shall instruct you and teach you the way to go; I shall not take my eyes off you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule; that does not understand bridle or bit; if you advance to master them, there is no means of bringing them near.
10 Countless troubles are in store for the wicked, but one who trusts in Yahweh is enfolded in his faithful love.
11 Rejoice in Yahweh, exult all you upright, shout for joy, you honest of heart.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 42
1 [For the choirmaster Poem Of the sons of Korah] As a deer yearns for running streams, so I yearn for you, my God.
2 I thirst for God, the living God; when shall I go to see the face of God?
3 I have no food but tears day and night, as all day long I am taunted, ‘Where is your God?’
4 This I remember as I pour out my heart, how I used to pass under the roof of the Most High used to go to the house of God, among cries of joy and praise, the sound of the feast.
5 Why be so downcast, why all these sighs? Hope in God! I will praise him still, my Saviour,
6 my God. When I am downcast I think of you: from the land of Jordan and Hermon, I think of you, humble mountain.
7 Deep is calling to deep by the roar of your cataracts, all your waves and breakers have rolled over me.
8 In the daytime God sends his faithful love, and even at night; the song it inspires in me is a prayer to my living God.
9 I shall say to God, my rock, ‘Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go around in mourning, harrassed by the enemy?’
10 With death in my bones, my enemies taunt me, all day long they ask me, ‘Where is your God?’
11 Why so downcast, why all these sighs? Hope in God! I will praise him still, my Saviour, my God.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 43
1 Judge me, God, defend my cause against a people who have no faithful love; from those who are treacherous and unjust, rescue me.
2 For you are the God of my strength; why abandon me? Why must I go around in mourning, harrassed by the enemy?
3 Send out your light and your truth; they shall be my guide, to lead me to your holy mountain to the place where you dwell.
4 Then I shall go to the altar of God, to the God of my joy. I will rejoice and praise you on the harp, O God, my God.
5 Why so downcast, why all these sighs? Hope in God! I will praise him still, my Saviour, my God.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Genesis 12:9-13:1
9 Then Abram made his way stage by stage to the Negeb.
10 There was a famine in the country, and Abram went down to Egypt to stay there for a time, since the famine in the country was severe.
11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘Look, I know you are a beautiful woman.
12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, “That is his wife,” and they will kill me but leave you alive.
13 Therefore please tell them you are my sister, so that they may treat me well because of you and spare my life out of regard for you.’
14 When Abram arrived in Egypt the Egyptians did indeed see that the woman was very beautiful.
15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw her they sang her praises to Pharaoh and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s household.
16 And Abram was very well treated because of her and received flocks, oxen, donkeys, men and women slaves, she-donkeys and camels.
17 But Yahweh inflicted severe plagues on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai.
18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, ‘What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me she was your wife?
19 Why did you say, “She is my sister,” so that I took her to be my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go!’
20 And Pharaoh gave his people orders about him; they sent him on his way with his wife and all his possessions.
1 From Egypt Abram returned to the Negeb with his wife and all he possessed, and Lot with him.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Hebrews 7:18-28
18 The earlier commandment is thus abolished, because of its weakness and ineffectiveness
19 since the Law could not make anything perfect; but now this commandment is replaced by something better-the hope that brings us close to God.
20 Now the former priests became priests without any oath being sworn,
21 but this one with the swearing of an oath by him who said to him, The Lord has sworn an oath he will never retract: you are a priest for ever;
22 the very fact that it occurred with the swearing of an oath makes the covenant of which Jesus is the guarantee all the greater.
23 Further, the former priests were many in number, because death put an end to each one of them;
24 but this one, because he remains for ever, has a perpetual priesthood.
25 It follows, then, that his power to save those who come to God through him is absolute, since he lives for ever to intercede for them.
26 Such is the high priest that met our need, holy, innocent and uncontaminated, set apart from sinners, and raised up above the heavens;
27 he has no need to offer sacrifices every day, as the high priests do, first for their own sins and only then for those of the people; this he did once and for all by offering himself.
28 The Law appoints high priests who are men subject to weakness; but the promise on oath, which came after the Law, appointed the Son who is made perfect for ever.(New Jerusalem Bible)
John 4:27-42
27 At this point his disciples returned and were surprised to find him speaking to a woman, though none of them asked, ‘What do you want from her?’ or, ‘What are you talking to her about?’
28 The woman put down her water jar and hurried back to the town to tell the people,
29 ‘Come and see a man who has told me everything I have done; could this be the Christ?’
30 This brought people out of the town and they made their way towards him.
31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, do have something to eat’;
32 but he said, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’
33 So the disciples said to one another, ‘Has someone brought him food?’
34 But Jesus said: My food is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to complete his work.
35 Do you not have a saying: Four months and then the harvest? Well, I tell you, look around you, look at the fields; already they are white, ready for harvest!
36 Already the reaper is being paid his wages, already he is bringing in the grain for eternal life, so that sower and reaper can rejoice together.
37 For here the proverb holds true: one sows, another reaps;
38 I sent you to reap a harvest you have not laboured for. Others have laboured for it; and you have come into the rewards of their labour.
39 Many Samaritans of that town believed in him on the strength of the woman’s words of testimony, ‘He told me everything I have done.’
40 So, when the Samaritans came up to him, they begged him to stay with them. He stayed for two days, and
41 many more came to believe on the strength of the words he spoke to them;
42 and they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe no longer because of what you told us; we have heard him ourselves and we know that he is indeed the Saviour of the world.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
Agnes
Psalm 45:11-16
11 then the king will fall in love with your beauty; he is your lord, bow down before him.
12 The daughter of Tyre will court your favour with gifts, and the richest of peoples
13 with jewels set in gold. Clothed
14 in brocade, the king’s daughter is led within to the king with the maidens of her retinue; her companions are brought to her,
15 they enter the king’s palace with joy and rejoicing.
16 Instead of your ancestors you will have sons; you will make them rulers over the whole world.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Song of Solomon 2:10-13
10 My love lifts up his voice, he says to me, ‘Come then, my beloved, my lovely one, come.
11 For see, winter is past, the rains are over and gone.
12 ‘Flowers are appearing on the earth. The season of glad songs has come, the cooing of the turtledove is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree is forming its first figs and the blossoming vines give out their fragrance. Come then, my beloved, my lovely one, come.(New Jerusalem Bible)
2 Corinthians 6:16-18
16 The temple of God cannot compromise with false gods, and that is what we are — the temple of the living God. We have God’s word for it: I shall fix my home among them and live among them; I will be their God and they will be my people.
17 Get away from them, purify yourselves, says the Lord. Do not touch anything unclean, and then I shall welcome you.
18 I shall be father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me, says the almighty Lord.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Matthew 18:1-6
1 At this time the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?’
2 So he called a little child to him whom he set among them.
3 Then he said, ‘In truth I tell you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.
4 And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven.
5 ‘Anyone who welcomes one little child like this in my name welcomes me.
6 But anyone who is the downfall of one of these little ones who have faith in me would be better drowned in the depths of the sea with a great millstone round his neck.(New Jerusalem Bible)
2 Samuel 1:1–4,11–12,19–27
1 Saul was dead and David, returning after his victory over the Amalekites, had been at Ziklag for two days.
2 On the third day, a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and earth on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.
3 David asked him, ‘Where have you come from?’ ‘I have escaped from the Israelite camp,’ he said.
4 David said, ‘What has happened? Tell me.’ He replied, ‘The people fled from the battle, and many of them have fallen and are dead. Saul and his son Jonathan are dead too.’
11 David then took hold of his clothes and tore them, and all the men with him did the same.
12 They mourned and wept and fasted until the evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, for the people of Yahweh and for the House of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
19 Does the splendour of Israel lie dead on your heights? How did the heroes fall?
20 Do not speak of it in Gath, nor broadcast it in the streets of Ashkelon, for fear the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, for fear the daughters of the uncircumcised gloat.
21 You mountains of Gilboa, no dew, no rain fall on you, O treacherous fields where the heroes’ shield lies dishonoured! Not greased with oil, the shield of Saul,
22 but with the blood of wounded men, the fat of warriors! The bow of Jonathan never turned back, the sword of Saul never came home unsated!
23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and handsome, were divided neither in life, nor in death. Swifter than eagles were they, stronger than lions.
24 O daughters of Israel, weep for Saul who gave you scarlet and fine linen to wear, who pinned golden jewellery on your dresses!
25 How did the heroes fall in the thick of the battle? Jonathan, by your dying I too am stricken,
26 I am desolate for you, Jonathan my brother. Very dear you were to me, your love more wonderful to me than the love of a woman.
27 How did the heroes fall and the weapons of war succumb!(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 80:1–7
1 [For the choirmaster Tune: 'The decrees are lilies' Of Asaph Psalm] Shepherd of Israel, listen, you who lead Joseph like a flock, enthroned on the winged creatures, shine forth
2 over Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh; rouse your valour and come to our help.
3 God, bring us back, let your face shine on us and we shall be safe.
4 Yahweh, God Sabaoth, how long will you flare up at your people’s prayer?
5 You have made tears their food, redoubled tears their drink.
6 You let our neighbours quarrel over us, our enemies mock us.
7 God Sabaoth, bring us back, let your face shine on us and we shall be safe.(New Jerusalem Bible)
John 8:51–59
51 In all truth I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.
52 The Jews said, ‘Now we know that you are possessed. Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead, and yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never know the taste of death.”
53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? The prophets are dead too. Who are you claiming to be?’
54 Jesus answered: If I were to seek my own glory my glory would be worth nothing; in fact, my glory is conferred by the Father, by the one of whom you say, ‘He is our God,’
55 although you do not know him. But I know him, and if I were to say, ‘I do not know him,’ I should be a liar, as you yourselves are. But I do know him, and I keep his word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to think that he would see my Day; he saw it and was glad.
57 The Jews then said, ‘You are not fifty yet, and you have seen Abraham!’
58 Jesus replied: In all truth I tell you, before Abraham ever was, I am.
59 At this they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself and left the Temple.(New Jerusalem Bible)

Saturday, 21 January 2012
Saturday of the Second week in Ordinary Time
Saint(s) of the day:St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr (+ 304) – Memorial
Mark 3:20-21
20 He went home again, and once more such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal.
21 When his relations heard of this, they set out to take charge of him; they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
Commentary of the day:
Blessed John XXIII (1881-1963), pope
Prayer to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (Journal of a soul, ©Geoffrey Chapman)
Jesus loved us to the end (Jn 13,1)
O Jesus, divine food of the soul, this immense concourse turns to you. It wishes to give to its human and Christian vocation a new, vigorous power of interior virtue, and to be ready for sacrifice, of which you were such a wonderful pattern in word and example. You are our elder brother; you have trodden our path before us, O Christ Jesus, the path of every one of us; you have forgiven all our sins; you inspire us, each and all, to give a nobler, more convinced and more active witness of Christian life.
O Jesus, our “bread of life” (Jn 6,35) and the only substantial food for our souls, gather all peoples around your table. Your altar is divine reality on earth, the pledge of heavenly favours, the assurance of just understanding among peoples, and of peaceful rivalry in the true progress of civilization. Nourished by you and with you, O Jesus, men will be strong in faith, joyful in hope, and active in the many and varied expressions of charity. Our wills will know how to overcome the snares of evil, the temptations of selfishness, the listlessness of sloth. And men who love and fear the Lord will hear arising from earth the first mysterious and sweet voices of the City of God, of which the wayfaring Church militant is the image. O Jesus, you guide us to fresh pastures and watch over us. Grant that we may see good things in the land of the living, (Ps 27 [26], 13).

1st Thought for Today:
My Utmost for His Highest
Reading for Saturday 21st January 2012
RECALL WHAT GOD REMEMBERS by Oswald Chambers
I remember . . . the kindness of thy youth.(Jeremiah 2:2)
Am I as spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Am I full of the little things that cheer His heart over me, or am I whimpering because things are going hardly with me? There is no joy in the soul that has forgotten what God prizes. It is a great thing to think that Jesus Christ has need of me – “Give Me to drink.” How much kindness have I shown Him this past week? Have I been kind to His reputation in my life?
God is saying to His people – You are not in love with Me now, but I remember the time when you were – “I remember . . . the love of thine espousals.” Am I as full of the extravagance of love to Jesus Christ as I was in the beginning, when I went out of my way to prove my devotion to Him? Does He find me recalling the time when I did not care for anything but Himself? Am I there now, or have I become wise over loving Him? Am I so in love with Him that I take no account of where I go? or am I watching for the respect due to me; weighing how much service I ought to give?
If, as I recall what God remembers about me, I find He is not what He used to be to me, let it produce shame and humiliation, because that shame will bring the godly sorrow that works repentance.

Reflecting God-Who Are The Real Winners In Life?
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Scripture-Psalm 49:1-11
1 [For the choirmaster Of the sons of Korah Psalm] Hear this, all nations, listen, all who dwell on earth,
2 people high and low, rich and poor alike!
3 My lips have wisdom to utter, my heart good sense to whisper.
4 I listen carefully to a proverb, I set my riddle to the music of the harp.
5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble? Malice dogs me and hems me in.
6 They trust in their wealth, and boast of the profusion of their riches.
7 But no one can ever redeem himself or pay his own ransom to God,
8 the price for himself is too high; it can never be
9 that he will live on for ever and avoid the sight of the abyss.
10 For he will see the wise also die no less than the fool and the brute, and leave their wealth behind for others.
11 For ever no home but their tombs, their dwelling-place age after age, though they gave their name to whole territories.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Who Are The Real Winners In Life? by Lenny Wisehart
The psalmist announces he is about to solve one of life’s greatest riddles (49:1-4). The wicked who prosper materially are not ultimately blessed, for they trust their wealth and die without hope.
This psalm is about rich people. Ironically the “rich” people here are in reality “poor.” Money is the ruling factor in their lives. These are people who have possessions, and that is all they have. The psalm does not make being rich a sin. The sin lies in trusting in riches. It is not money that is the root of evil, but the inordinate love of it.
Psalm 49 gives a believer’s perspective for coping with such people. The wicked will not gain eternal life (verse 9). Although they may have power, it will only be during this life. This perspective demands demands a firm persuasion that this life is quickly passing and will be replaced with eternal life or death.
This passage forcefully illustrates the irrevocable biblical truth that riches are limited and cannot ward off death. No amount of money can save their souls (verses 7-8). The righteous are the real winners.
Hymn for today:
“I Belong to the King” by Ida Reed Smith
1. I belong to the King; I’m a child of His love,
I shall dwell in His palace so fair,
For He tells of its bliss in yon Heaven above,
And His children in splendor shall share.
Refrain
I belong to the King; I’m a child of His love,
And he never forsaketh His own.
He will call me some day to His palace above;
I shall dwell by His glorified throne.
2. I belong to the King, and He loves me I know,
For His mercy and kindness so free
Are unceasingly mine wheresoever I go,
And my refuge unfailing is He.
Refrain
I belong to the King; I’m a child of His love,
And he never forsaketh His own.
He will call me some day to His palace above;
I shall dwell by His glorified throne.
3. I belong to the King, and His promise is sure:
That we all shall be gathered at last
In His kingdom above, by life’s waters so pure,
When this life with its trials is past.
Refrain
I belong to the King; I’m a child of His love,
And he never forsaketh His own.
He will call me some day to His palace above;
I shall dwell by His glorified throne.
2nd Thought for Today:
“It is not what a person owns, but what owns them, that shapes their destiny.”
Prayer Needs:
Many people in Poland will come to know Christ and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

The Upper Room Daily Devotional
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Ordinary Servants
Suggested Bible Reading:
Read Luke 17:7-10
7 ‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal at once”?
8 Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper ready; fasten your belt and wait on me while I eat and drink. You yourself can eat and drink afterwards”?
9 Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told?
10 So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are useless servants: we have done no more than our duty.” ‘(New Jerusalem Bible)
Today’s Scripture:
When you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.”(Luke 17:10 (TEV))
Today’s Devotional
Several months ago, my husband realized an elderly woman he knew needed medical attention. Though she resisted, he continued to encourage her to see a doctor and to assist her in practical ways. Eventually, she was hospitalized with serious health issues. Upon discharge, she needed a lot of care. Believing that God had called us to minister in this situation, we determined to do what was needed, trusting God to help us. A number of people expressed surprise that we were able to do what we did.
Recently another elderly woman needed help moving from her home to temporary housing. She called me, asking if we knew anyone who had a truck. We had one. Throughout the packing and after getting her settled, she continually exclaimed, “You two are angels!”
These responses made me uncomfortable. In both situations, I encouraged people to give the glory to God because God’s love moved us to act as we did. Yet responding in that way seemed inadequate. Then, I came across these words that Jesus spoke, “When you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.’”
Christians doing what we’re called to do should not be deemed extraordinary. Obeying God’s commands is simply living the normal Christian life. by Lois Duble (Maryland, USA)
3rd Thought for the Day: Where can I show the love of God in practical ways?
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you that you enable us to do what you have called us to do to show others your love. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Elderly persons who need care
The scripture quotation, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2012 by The Upper Room, a ministry of GBOD. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or redistribute without written permission from the publisher.

Daily Meditation: Living on our One Earth — January 21, 2012
Center for Action and Contemplation
LIVING ON OUR ONE EARTH
Plato, a foundational Greek philosopher, has had far more influence on Christianity up to now than even Jesus often has! (I want to shock you into awareness!) Jesus says matter and spirit, divine and human are not enemies, but in fact are two sides of the same coin. They reveal one another, and are finally one! That is the meaning of his two raised fingers in much of Christian art.
Plato positions body and soul as irreconcilable enemies. Our moral theology, most of our sexual teaching, and our lackluster history of Earth care all show that we too have not seen matter and spirit, or body and soul, as friends, and as a result, have been Platonists more than Christians. (Part of the reason for this is Paul’s unfortunate use of the the word “flesh” in opposition to spirit. He would have made his point so much better, so much clearer, if he had used the word “ego” instead.) Embodiment is not the problem, ego is!
Matter and spirit have never been separate, says the Christ Mystery. We live in One United Whole; there is no sacred and profane, no natural and supernatural. All is sacred and supernatural inside of the One Christ Mystery, who “reconciles all things in Himself” (Colossians 1:15-20). Adapted from Soul Centering Through Nature: Becoming a True Human Adult (webcast) (CD/DVD/MP3)
Starter Prayer:
I am part of the whole. by Father Richard Rohr

4th Thought for Today:
Saturday January 21, 2012
The Voice in the Garden of Solitude
Solitude is the garden for our hearts, which yearn for love. It is the place where our aloneness can bear fruit. It is the home for our restless bodies and anxious minds. Solitude, whether it is connected with a physical space or not, is essential for our spiritual lives. It is not an easy place to be, since we are so insecure and fearful that we are easily distracted by whatever promises immediate satisfaction. Solitude is not immediately satisfying, because in solitude we meet our demons, our addictions, our feelings of lust and anger, and our immense need for recognition and approval. But if we do not run away, we will meet there also the One who says, “Do not be afraid. I am with you, and I will guide you through the valley of darkness.”
Let’s keep returning to our solitude. by Henri J. M. Nouwen

1.21.12 – Living the good life, married or single from The Church of the Resurrection-United Methodist in Leawood, Kansas, United States
Daily Scripture: Colossians 3:5 “That is why you must kill everything in you that is earthly: sexual vice, impurity, uncontrolled passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god;
6 it is precisely these things which draw God’s retribution upon those who resist.
7 And these things made up your way of life when you were living among such people,
8 but now you also must give up all these things: human anger, hot temper, malice, abusive language and dirty talk;
9 and do not lie to each other. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self,
10 and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its Creator;
11 and in that image there is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised and uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free. There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.
12 As the chosen of God, then, the holy people whom he loves, you are to be clothed in heartfelt compassion, in generosity and humility, gentleness and patience.
13 Bear with one another; forgive each other if one of you has a complaint against another. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same.
14 Over all these clothes, put on love, the perfect bond.”(New Jerusalem Bible)
Reflection Question:
The apostle Paul used the daily act of changing our clothes as a metaphor for living a new life in Christ. He listed ten hurtful qualities Christ-followers should “take off” (verses 5, 8), and six helpful qualities they can “put on” (verses 12, 14). Paul knew that changing is not that quick and easy—that it is the work of a lifetime of walking with Christ (Colossians 3:1-4). But note: he wrote this just before the part of the letter expressly about marriage and family life.
“Put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Be tolerant with each other and, if someone has a complaint…, forgive each other. As the Lord forgave you, so also forgive each other. And over all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” How are you growing to be that kind of a partner in your most valued relationship? When you fail to “put on” this way of life, what blocks you? In God, there’s always hope! Get human help if you need it, and let God go to work in your life.
Family Activity:
Purchase some seeds of a favorite flower or plant that can grow indoors. Plant the seeds in a container and place it where your family can watch it grow. Read the directions about caring for the plant and follow them carefully. Celebrate the growth of the plant. As this is occurring, discuss how everything takes work and needs help to grow—even our relationships. Talk about the importance of listening to one another, sharing thoughts and feelings, having fun together, and supporting and encouraging each other. As you are working to helping the plant grow, also commit to helping your relationships grow. Celebrate your family and ask God to help you grow together.
Saturday 1.21.12 Insight from Lori Trupp
Lori Trupp is the Director of Children’s Ministries at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
I am currently in the season of life that includes having teenagers–2 full-fledged, one wannabe pre-teen (yes, your prayers are welcomed). When my kids received the e-note, FB update, Tweet about this sermon series on “Love, Marriage, and Sex,” the grumbling immediately began in my household. The grumbles sounded something like this: “You’re not going to make us go to this, are you?” “Oh brother, this is going to be so boring, a bunch of old married stuff.” “Gross! I don’t have to sit by you while Adam talks about that, do I? That will be sooooo embarrassing!” You get the picture. Truthfully, I couldn’t believe my ears. I mean, I expected some eye-rolling (typical teenage reaction to most things these days), but I was perplexed. Where was this coming from?
After some prodding to give us reasons for their protests, my husband and I were able to conclude that they simply didn’t think this had anything to do with them, since they don’t see love, marriage, or sex happening for them for a long time, when they are “older” (to quote them.) While that line of thinking makes me want to cheer a little (in fact ,I believe my exact words were, “Yes, that is right, you are WAY too young for any of that”), we knew we needed to help them connect the dots a little better from the way they live now to what that means for their future relationships, and ultimately who they choose as a spouse.
Enter Paul’s difficult, yet perfect words from his letter to the Colossians. Because we are followers of Christ, we are called to die to self and sin. We are called to forgive because we have been forgiven. We are called to clothe ourselves in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience daily. Our prayer for our kids is that someday when they meet “the one”, this person will also know THE ONE, and that these truths will be the foundation for their marriage. (I have to admit that we do chuckle a little about who will marry our middle child someday. Hope that person is up for it! I know, we’re bad).
Of course, the words “this will be a piece of cake” do not appear anywhere in this passage of scripture. We are not promised an easy path, either spiritually or relationally. We know we are imperfect and will make mistakes that require forgiveness. But the more we grow in our relationship with Christ and the more we strive to live as he lived, the better the rest of our relationships will be, present and future. So even though I catch an occasional eye roll or two during our ongoing conversations regarding each sermon and passage of scripture read from our GPS, we know that God is at work always, guiding our path, helping us connect the dots between scripture and life, molding our hearts and the hearts of our children, as they prepare to someday (a LONG time from now) meet the one they will choose as their spouse.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

Saturday 21 January 2012
The History of Humanity
The history of humanity is one group breaking off from another group creating their rituals, creating their language and so on–and then wars. Very quickly, my culture’s better than your culture, my way of doing things is better than your way of doing things. Now, let’s rethink a new vision for our world based on every human being as important–and that means we have to change. by Jean Vanier
Belonging: The Search for Acceptance
Windborne Production Video

Shabbat Shalom Weekly Message!
Welcome to Va’era (And I Appeared), this week’s Parsha (Torah Portion).
Please read along with us as we make our way through the Torah portion
that will be read in synagogues around the world during this week’s Shabbat
(Saturday) service. Enjoy!
VA’ERA (And I Appeared)
Exodus 6:2–9:35
1 Yahweh then said to Moses, ‘Now you will see what I am going to do to Pharaoh. A mighty hand will force him to let them go, a mighty hand will force him to expel them from his country.’
2 God spoke to Moses and said to him, ‘I am Yahweh.
3 To Abraham, Isaac and Jacob I appeared as El Shaddai, but I did not make my name Yahweh known to them.
4 I also made my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the country in which they were living as aliens.
5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, enslaved by the Egyptians, and have remembered my covenant.
6 So say to the Israelites, “I am Yahweh. I shall free you from the forced labour of the Egyptians; I shall rescue you from their slavery and I shall redeem you with outstretched arm and mighty acts of judgement.
7 I shall take you as my people and I shall be your God. And you will know that I am Yahweh your God, who have freed you from the forced labour of the Egyptians.
8 Then I shall lead you into the country which I swore I would give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and shall give it to you as your heritage, I, Yahweh.” ‘
9 And Moses repeated this to the Israelites, but they would not listen to Moses, so crushed was their spirit and so cruel their slavery.
10 Yahweh then said to Moses,
11 ‘Go to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and tell him to let the Israelites leave his country.’
12 But Moses spoke out in Yahweh’s presence and said, ‘The Israelites have not listened to me, so why should Pharaoh take any notice of a poor speaker like me?’
13 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron and sent them to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
14 These were their heads of families: The sons of Reuben, Israel’s first-born: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi: these are the clans of Reuben.
15 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul son of the Canaanite woman: these are the clans of Simeon.
16 These were the names of the sons of Levi with their descendants: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived for a hundred and thirty-seven years.
17 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, with their clans.
18 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. Kohath lived for a hundred and thirty-three years.
19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of Levi with their descendants.
20 Amram married Jochebed, his aunt, who bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived for a hundred and thirty-seven years.
21 The sons of Izhar were: Korah, Nepheg and Zichri.
22 And the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan and Sithri.
23 Aaron married Elisheba daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
24 The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These are the clans of the Korahites.
25 Eleazar, son of Aaron, married one of Putiel’s daughters who bore him Phinehas. These were the Levitical heads of families, according to clan.
26 It was to this Aaron and Moses that Yahweh said, ‘Lead the Israelites out of Egypt in their armies.’
27 It was they who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to lead the Israelites out of Egypt — namely Moses and Aaron.
28 Now the day when Yahweh spoke to Moses in Egypt,
29 Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything that I am going to say to you.’
30 But Moses said to Yahweh’s face, ‘I am a poor speaker, so why should Pharaoh take any notice of me?’
1 Yahweh then said to Moses, ‘Look, I have made you as a god for Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron is to be your prophet.
2 You must say whatever I command you, and your brother Aaron will repeat to Pharaoh that he is to let the Israelites leave his country.
3 But I myself shall make Pharaoh stubborn and shall perform many a sign and wonder in Egypt.
4 Since Pharaoh will not listen to you, I shall lay my hand on Egypt and with great acts of judgement lead my armies, my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.
5 And the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I stretch out my hand against the Egyptians and lead the Israelites out of their country.’
6 Moses and Aaron did exactly as Yahweh had ordered.
7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron,
9 ‘If Pharaoh says to you, “Display some marvel,” you must say to Aaron, “Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and let it turn into a serpent!” ‘
10 Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as Yahweh had ordered. Aaron threw down his staff in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it turned into a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh in his turn called for the sages and sorcerers, and by their spells the magicians of Egypt did the same.
12 Each threw his staff down and these turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up theirs.
13 Pharaoh, however, remained obstinate and, as Yahweh had foretold, refused to listen to Moses and Aaron.
14 Yahweh then said to Moses, ‘Pharaoh is adamant. He refuses to let the people go.
15 Go to Pharaoh tomorrow morning as he makes his way to the water, confront him on the river bank and in your hand take the staff that turned into a snake.
16 Say to him, “Yahweh, God of the Hebrews, sent me to say: Let my people go and worship in the desert. Up till now, you have refused to listen.
17 This is what Yahweh says: You will know that I am Yahweh by this: with the staff that is in my hand I shall strike the waters of the River and they will turn to blood.
18 The fish in the river will die, and the River will stink, and the Egyptians will not be able to drink the river water.” ‘
19 Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt — over their rivers and canals, their marshland, and all their reservoirs — and they will turn to blood. There will be blood throughout the whole of Egypt, even in sticks and stones,”
20 Moses and Aaron did as Yahweh ordered. He raised his staff and struck the waters of the River, with Pharaoh and his officials looking on, and all the water in the River turned to blood.
21 The fish in the River died, and the River stank; and the Egyptians could no longer drink the River water. Throughout the whole of Egypt there was blood.
22 But by their spells the magicians of Egypt did the same; Pharaoh remained obstinate and, as Yahweh had foretold, refused to listen to Moses and Aaron.
23 Pharaoh turned away and went back into his palace, taking no notice even of this.
24 And the Egyptians all dug holes along the river-bank in search of drinking water, since they could not drink the River water.
25 After Yahweh struck the River, seven days went by.
26 Then Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him, “Yahweh says this: Let my people go and worship me.
27 If you refuse to let them go, I shall strike your whole territory with frogs.
28 The River will swarm with frogs; they will make their way into your palace, into your bedroom, onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and subjects, into your ovens, into your kneading bowls.
29 The frogs will actually clamber onto you, onto your subjects and onto all your officials.” ‘
1 Yahweh then said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Stretch out your hand with your staff, over the rivers, the canals and the marshland, and bring the frogs up over the land of Egypt.” ‘
2 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.
3 But by their spells the magicians did the same, bringing frogs over the land of Egypt.
4 Pharaoh then summoned Moses and Aaron and said, ‘Entreat Yahweh to take the frogs away from me and my subjects, and I promise to let the people go and sacrifice to Yahweh.’
5 Moses said to Pharaoh, ‘You are the one to gain by it: when would you like me to pray for you, your officials and your subjects, so as to rid you and your houses of the frogs so that they will be left only in the River?’
6 ‘Tomorrow,’ he said. Moses said, ‘It shall be as you say, so that you will know that there is no one like Yahweh our God.
7 The frogs will leave you, your houses, your officials and your subjects and will be left only in the River.’
8 Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh’s presence, and Moses pleaded with Yahweh about the frogs which he had inflicted on Pharaoh.
9 Yahweh did as Moses asked, and in house and courtyard and field the frogs died.
10 They piled them up in heaps and the country stank.
11 But once Pharaoh saw that there had been a respite, he became obstinate and, as Yahweh had foretold, refused to listen to them.
12 Yahweh then said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it will turn into mosquitoes throughout the whole of Egypt.” ‘
13 Aaron stretched out his hand, with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were mosquitoes on man and beast; all the dust of the earth turned into mosquitoes throughout the whole of Egypt.
14 By their spells the magicians tried to produce mosquitoes in the same way but failed, and there were mosquitoes on man and beast.
15 So the magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God.’ But Pharaoh was obstinate and, as Yahweh had foretold, refused to listen to them.
16 Yahweh then said to Moses, ‘Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he makes his way to the water. Say to him, “Yahweh says this: Let my people go and worship me.
17 But if you will not let my people go, I shall send horseflies on you, on your officials, your subjects and your houses. The Egyptians’ houses will swarm with horseflies, and so will the very ground they stand on.
18 But I shall exempt the region of Goshen, where my people are living, that day; there will be no horseflies there, so that you will know that I am Yahweh, here in this country.
19 I shall make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow.” ‘
20 Yahweh did this, and great swarms of horseflies found their way into Pharaoh’s palace, into his officials’ houses and all over Egypt; the country was ruined by the horseflies.
21 Pharaoh then summoned Moses and Aaron and said, ‘Go and sacrifice to your God, inside the country.’
22 ‘That would never do,’ Moses said, ‘since what we sacrifice to Yahweh our God is outrageous to the Egyptians. If the Egyptians see us offering sacrifices which outrage them, won’t they stone us?
23 We shall make a three-days’ journey into the desert to sacrifice to Yahweh our God, as he has ordered us.’
24 Pharaoh said, ‘I will let you go and sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the desert, provided you do not go very far. Pray for me.’
25 ‘The moment I leave you,’ Moses said, ‘I shall pray to Yahweh. Tomorrow morning the horseflies will leave Pharaoh, his officials and his subjects. But Pharaoh must stop trifling with us by not allowing the people to go and sacrifice to Yahweh.’
26 Moses then left Pharaoh’s presence and prayed to Yahweh,
27 and Yahweh did as Moses asked; the horseflies left Pharaoh, his officials and his subjects; not one remained.
28 But Pharaoh became obstinate this time too and did not let the people go.
1 Yahweh then said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him, “Yahweh, God of the Hebrews, says this: Let my people go and worship me.
2 If you refuse to let them go and detain them any longer,
3 look, the hand of Yahweh will strike your livestock in the fields, horses, donkeys, camels, oxen and flocks with a deadly plague.
4 Yahweh will discriminate between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt: nothing of what belongs to the Israelites will die.
5 Yahweh has fixed the time. Tomorrow, he has said, Yahweh will do this in the country.” ‘
6 Next day Yahweh did this: all the Egyptians’ livestock died, but nothing of the livestock owned by the Israelites died.
7 Pharaoh had enquiries made, and found that of the livestock owned by the Israelites not a single beast had died. But Pharaoh was obstinate and did not let the people go.
8 Yahweh then said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and before Pharaoh’s eyes let Moses throw it in the air.
9 It will turn into fine dust over the whole of Egypt and produce boils breaking into sores on man and beast throughout the whole of Egypt.’
10 So they took soot from the kiln and stood in front of Pharaoh, and Moses threw it in the air, and on man and beast it brought out boils breaking into sores.
11 And the magicians could not compete with Moses in the matter of the boils, for the magicians were covered with boils like all the other Egyptians.
12 But Yahweh made Pharaoh stubborn and, as Yahweh had foretold to Moses, he did not listen to them.
13 Yahweh then said to Moses, ‘Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh. Say to him, “Yahweh, God of the Hebrews, says this: Let my people go and worship me.
14 For this time I am going to inflict all my plagues on you, on your officials and on your subjects, so that you will know that there is no one like me in the whole world.
15 Had I stretched out my hand to strike you and your subjects with pestilence, you would have been swept from the earth.
16 But I have let you survive for this reason: to display my power to you and to have my name talked of throughout the world.
17 Since you take a high hand with my people, refusing to let them go,
18 very well, at about this time tomorrow, I shall cause so severe a hail to fall as was never known in Egypt from the day of its foundation until now.
19 So now send word to have your livestock and everything else you own in the fields put under cover. On man or beast, all that happen to be in the fields and are not brought indoors, the hail will fall and they will die.” ‘
20 Those of Pharaoh’s officials who respected what Yahweh said, brought their slaves and livestock indoors,
21 but those who did not take to heart what Yahweh said left their slaves and livestock in the fields.
22 Yahweh then said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand towards heaven so that it hails throughout the whole of Egypt, on man and beast and on everything growing anywhere in Egypt.’
23 Moses stretched out his staff towards heaven, and Yahweh thundered and rained down hail. Lightning struck the earth and Yahweh rained down hail on Egypt.
24 And so there was hail, and lightning accompanied the hail, very severe, such as had never been known anywhere in Egypt since it first became a nation.
25 All over Egypt the hail struck down everything in the fields, man and beast, and the hail beat down everything growing in the fields and shattered all the trees in the fields.
26 The only place where there was no hail was in the Goshen region, where the Israelites lived.
27 Pharaoh then sent for Moses and Aaron and said, ‘This time, I have sinned. Yahweh is in the right; I and my subjects are in the wrong.
28 Pray to Yahweh, for we cannot bear any more of this thunder and hail. I promise to let you go. You need stay no longer.’
29 Moses said to him, ‘The moment I leave the city I shall stretch out my hands to Yahweh. The thunder will stop, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth belongs to Yahweh.
30 But as for you and your officials, I know very well that you still have no respect for Yahweh God.’
31 The flax and the barley were ruined, since the barley was in the ear and the flax in bud,
32 but the wheat and spelt were not destroyed, being late crops.
33 Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He stretched out his hands to Yahweh and the thunder and hail ceased and the rain stopped pouring down on the earth.
34 When Pharaoh saw that rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he relapsed into sin,
35 and he and his officials became obstinate again. Pharaoh was stubborn and, as Yahweh had foretold through Moses, refused to let the Israelites go.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Ezekiel 28:25–29:21
25 “The Lord Yahweh says this: When I gather the House of Israel back from the peoples where they are dispersed, I shall display my glory in them for the nations to see. They will live on the soil which I gave to my servant Jacob.
26 They will live there in confidence, build houses, plant vineyards. They will live in safety, once I inflict punishments on all the hostile nations surrounding them, and they will know that I am Yahweh their God.” ‘
1 In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, the word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,
2 ‘Son of man, turn towards Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against the whole of Egypt.
3 Speak and say, “The Lord Yahweh says this: Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt- the great crocodile wallowing in his Niles who thought: My Nile is mine, I made it.
4 I shall put hooks through your jaws, make your Nile fish stick to your scales, and pull you out of your Niles with all your Nile fish sticking to your scales.
5 I shall drop you in the desert, with all your Nile fish. You will fall in the wilds and not be taken up or buried. I shall give you as food to the wild animals and the birds of heaven,
6 and all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am Yahweh, for they have given no more support than a reed to the House of Israel.
7 Wherever they grasped you, you broke in their hands and cut their hands all over. Whenever they leaned on you, you broke, making all their limbs give way.
8 “So, the Lord Yahweh says this: I shall send the sword against you to denude you of human and animal.
9 Egypt will become a desolate waste, and they will know that I am Yahweh. Because he thought: The Nile is mine, I made it,
10 very well, I am against you and your Niles. I shall make Egypt a waste and a desolation, from Migdol to Syene and beyond to the frontiers of Ethiopia.
11 No human foot will pass through it, no animal foot will pass through it. For forty years it will remain uninhabited.
12 I shall make Egypt the most desolate of countries; for forty years its cities will be the most desolate of wasted cities. And I shall scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the countries.
13 The Lord Yahweh, however, says this: After forty years have passed, I shall gather the Egyptians back from the nations where they were dispersed.
14 I shall bring the Egyptian captives back and re-install them in the land of Pathros, in the country of their origin. There they will constitute a modest kingdom.
15 Egypt will be the most modest of kingdoms and no longer dominate other nations; for I shall reduce it, so that it will not rule other nations ever again.
16 It will no longer be anything for the House of Israel to trust in, but will be a reminder of the guilt which lay in turning to it for help. And they will know that I am Lord Yahweh.” ‘
17 In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, the word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows:
18 ‘Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken his army in a great expedition against Tyre. Their heads have all gone bald, their shoulders are all chafed, but even so he has derived no profit, either for himself or for his army, from the expedition mounted against Tyre.
19 Since this is so, the Lord Yahweh says this, “Look, I shall hand Egypt over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will carry off its riches, loot it, put it to the sack; that will be the wages for his army.
20 As wages for the trouble he has taken, I am giving him Egypt instead (for they have been working for me)-declares the Lord Yahweh.
21 “That day, I shall raise up a new stock for the House of Israel and allow you to open your mouth among them. And they will know that I am Yahweh.” ‘(New Jerusalem Bible)
Romans 9:14–33
14 What should we say, then? That God is unjust? Out of the question!
15 For speaking to Moses, he said: I am gracious to those to whom I am gracious and I take pity on those on whom I take pity.
16 So it is not a matter of what any person wants or what any person does, but only of God having mercy.
17 Scripture says to Pharaoh: I raised you up for this reason, to display my power in you and to have my name talked of throughout the world.
18 In other words, if God wants to show mercy on someone, he does so, and if he wants to harden someone’s heart, he does so.
19 Then you will ask me, ‘How then can he ever blame anyone, since no one can oppose his will?’
20 But you — who do you think you, a human being, are, to answer back to God? Something that was made, can it say to its maker: why did you make me this shape?
21 A potter surely has the right over his clay to make out of the same lump either a pot for special use or one for ordinary use.
22 But suppose that God, although all the time he wanted to reveal his retribution and demonstrate his power, has with great patience gone on putting up with those who are the instruments of his retribution and designed to be destroyed;
23 so that he may make known the glorious riches ready for the people who are the instruments of his faithful love and were long ago prepared for that glory.
24 We are that people, called by him not only out of the Jews but out of the gentiles too.
25 Just as he says in the book of Hosea: I shall tell those who were not my people, ‘You are my people,’ and I shall take pity on those on whom I had no pity.
26 And in the very place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be told that they are ‘children of the living God’.
27 And about Israel, this is what Isaiah cried out: Though the people of Israel are like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will be saved;
28 for without hesitation or delay the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth.
29 As Isaiah foretold: Had the Lord Sabaoth not left us a few survivors, we should be like Sodom, we should be the same as Gomorrah.
30 What should we say, then? That the gentiles, although they were not looking for saving justice, found it, and this was the saving justice that comes of faith;
31 while Israel, looking for saving justice by law-keeping, did not succeed in fulfilling the Law.
32 And why? Because they were trying to find it in actions and not in faith, and so they stumbled over the stumbling-stone-
33 as it says in scripture: Now I am laying in Zion a stumbling-stone, a rock to trip people up; but he who relies on this will not be brought to disgrace.(New Jerusalem Bible)
“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord (YHVH) says: ‘I will now
restore the fortunes of Jacob and will have compassion on all the
people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name.’”
(Ezekiel 39:25)
In last week’s Parsha, we began our study of the book of Shemot
(Exodus). Moses was called by God to deliver the children of Israel out of
bondage in Egypt, and discovered the true, authentic name of God—
YHVH, which is usually translated as LORD in English Bibles, though we
sometimes see Jehovah or Yahweh as scholars try to add vowel sounds
to these consonants.
This name is used over 6000 times in the Bible!
The sacred name of God, often referred to
as the Tetragrammaton, consists of the
following four Hebrew letters: yud, hey, vav,
hey (right to left). In Hebrew you read the
opposite way than you do in English.
This week’s Scripture portion opens with God revealing to Moshe (Moses)
the importance of His holy name:
“I am the Lord (Ani YHVH). I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to
Jacob as God Almighty (El Shaddai), but by my name the Lord (YHVH)
I did not make myself fully known to them. (Exodus 6:2-3)
Today, most Jewish people do not use the name of God out of reverence
for His holiness and fear of transgressing the command forbidding the use
of God’s name in vain.
Instead, the term Hashem (The Name) is substituted.
Still, God’s word promises that His people shall know His name.
“So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel….”
(Ezekiel 39:7)
Wall in Jerusalem
Knowing God by His Name
“I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty (El
Shaddai)….” (Exodus 6:2-3)
El Shaddai (God the All Sufficient) is an interesting name of God that
reveals the maternal quality of God’s character as nurturer, comforter, and
sustainer of life-giving nourishment, since it relates to the Hebrew word for
a woman’s breast.
Up to this point in the history of His People, God had cared for and
nurtured Israel as a mother.
When God brought His people out of Egypt, He was in effect, birthing a
new nation of holy people–a Royal Priesthood.
But, He also now was revealing Himself to Moses and to the children of
Israel as their Father–protector, provider, deliverer, and redeemer.
El Gibor (Mighty God)
“And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)
God is El Shaddai (Almighty/ All Sufficient God) and He is El Gibor
(Mighty God).
He displayed His might and power when He overcame Pharaoh and
delivered the children of Israel from Egypt, and for many situations in
which we find ourselves, we need His powerful intervention as well.
We need to know Him as a Father (Abba in Hebrew) and feel comfortable
crying out to Him, “Abba!”
God wants to father us – not as our earthly fathers who in their imperfect
humanity failed or disappointed us have fathered us, but as our perfect
Heavenly Father who will never leave us nor forsake us.
God is good, and all He does is for our good.
As covenant people of the God of Abraham, we can reclaim God’s authentic name and its accompanying power as part of our Divine inheritance. “Therefore I will teach them—this time I will teach them my power and
might (g’vurati, from the same Hebrew root as gibor). Then they will know
that my name is the LORD.” (Jeremiah 16:21)
Establishing the Covenant
“I also established My Covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan,
where they lived as aliens.” (Exodus 6:4)
God re-affirms in this parsha the unconditional covenant He made to give
the people of Israel the land in which we now live.
God’s faithfulness to His people is bound up with this Land. He is a faithful,
covenant-keeping God who says, “My Covenant I will not break.” (Psalm 89:34)
As people belonging to the God of Abraham, we need to stand firm on
Israel’s Biblical right to this Land promised to Abraham, seeing the issues in
the Middle East from a Biblical perspective, through God’s eyes and not
what the newspapers report.
Our ministry workers are Jewish Believers in Yeshua; we live here in joy–
this is our homeland.
But we are surrounded by hostile Arab enemies both in Israel and in all the
surrounding countries. Imagine if the city in which you lived had rockets
pointed at it and had to be on guard 24/7 against terrorist attacks.
Many Israeli cities are surrounded by hostile Arab cities, from which
terrorists come into Israeli cities to kill Israeli Jews. On our northern
border we have Lebanon and Syria, and Jordan on the east.
In the south there is Egypt where rockets and weapons are smuggled into
Gaza. And next to our direct neighbors we have Iraq that sends Scud
missiles into our cities, and today we have Iran threatening to send nuclear
warheads at us.
We are surrounded by enemies but we know that above us is the
King of Kings who is watching over us.
Renewing the Promise of Redemption
“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out
from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to
them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts
of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.”
(Exodus 6:6-7)
In this week’s parsha, God renews His promises of redemption to His
Covenant People, Israel.
In Exodus 6:6-8, He makes the following five redemptive promises to them:
I WILL bring you out (hotzeiti) from under the yoke of the Egyptians;
I WILL free you (hitzalti) from being slaves to them;
I WILL redeem you (goalti) with an outstretched arm and with
mighty acts of judgment;
I WILL take you (lakachti) as my own people, and I will be your
God; and
I WILL bring you (haveiti) to the land I swore with uplifted hand to
give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession.
When the Promises Look Empty
“…they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh
labor.” (Exodus 6:9)
Even though God promised redemption to His People in Egypt, for awhile
those promises looked like empty words to the Israelites.
We see that through Moses, God repeatedly demanded that Pharaoh let
the Israelite slaves go free, and Pharaoh repeatedly refused. Even though it
sometimes looked liked he might cooperate, he actually made their lives
harder in response to God’s demands.
So much harder, in fact, that the Israelites’ anguish grew so deep that they
would no longer receive God’s promise of redemption through Moses.
Nevertheless, God’s plan for freeing Israel was never in danger of not
coming to pass.
God intervened to rescue His helpless and suffering people from slavery,
bondage and oppression.
“But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; You consider their grief and
take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to You; You are the helper
of the fatherless.” (Psalm 10:14)
The Dark before the Dawn
We can take heart from this example from the Word of God. There may
be times when, after receiving the wonderful promises of God in our hearts,
our situation seems to worsen rather than improve.
The enemy may try to discourage and dishearten, but he can only delay
God’s promises from coming to pass in our lives. God will bring His
plans and purposes to pass in our lives.
Each one of us was helpless and suffering, enslaved to sin and the powers
of darkness. Just like the Israelites in Egypt, we could not redeem ourselves.
Nevertheless, God sent a redeemer, just as He sent Moses, and this
redeemer is Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah).
It’s wonderful to know that even when we are helpless and seemingly at the
mercy of those who are too strong and powerful for us, God will intervene
to deliver us when we continue to call out to Him in faith.
And we know that God is as faithful to redeem Israel today as He was in
the days of Moses!
“Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right
hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.” (Psalm 98:1)
Shabbat Shalom from all our ministry staff!

Sermon for Today:
The Dangers of Success by Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)
“‘Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”(Matthew 6:2)
The soul of Jesus was stirred within Him as He went about the streets of Jerusalem and saw the multitude of hypocrites who passed there for pious men. He saw the Pharisees standing in the synagogues and in the streets, distributing their charity. They came in with a crowd and a noise. They stood upon the highest platform. They were surrounded by their fawning sycophants. They insulted every poor man with their arrogance before they helped him. They made every coin sound as they dropped it and tinkle the praises of their generosity, so that all the synagogue or all the street could hear. There are such public and ostentatious almsgivers itoday doing the same thing in almost precisely the same way. There are plenty of people “doing their alms before men, to be seen of them.” These are the men that Jesus looked upon, and the comment that He made upon them is well worth our study. He saw them doing a certain act with a certain object. The act and the object for which they did it were exactly suited to one another. The act was unspiritual and selfish, and the object was unspiritual and selfish too. The charity they gave was cold and formal and unfeeling, and the praise that they expected for their charity was the cold, formal adulation of men whom they had convinced of their importance. In their charity there was no deep yearning after God and the children of God ; and in the applause that they expected they found a perfect satisfaction. They never dreamed of creeping by their charity a little nearer to God, and entering by sympathetic action a little deeper into His heart and mind, which is what the really devout soul is always longing for.
And so Jesus, looking at the meager nature of their charity and seeing how it just matched the superficial applause which it excited, said: ” Yes, verily, I say unto you they have their reward.*’ They get what they are after. They get no more. They have their reward. There is no more to come, no great, unrealized future fruitage of their action into which they shall enter one of these days. It is all there. Those clapping hands, those praising voices are all. They have their reward, and it is over. But yet they do certainly have it. Such as it is, they do not miss it. In their own little region their actions are certainly successful. Nay it seems, as Jesus speaks, we feel as if His words were certainly telling the story of condemnation, and they are sucessful, and it is that very success that ruins them.
They are certainly deep words, these words of Christ. They are not such words as many of us would speak, for He did not see with eyes like ours. His words touch and start a distinction which is always appearing in the different treatments of the low and selfish lives of low and selfish men. You see a man doing a selfish thing, or living a selfish life. He is working for a low and little purpose; what shall you say to him to turn him? You may tell him that he will fail in what he seeks; that, struggle as he will, he never will be rich; that, seek to be prominent as he will, he never will make men look at him; that, desire and work for peace and comfortableness as he will, very few men attain what he is working for, and it is not likely that he will attain it. You try to scare him off with the prophecy of failure. That does not do much good. Your friend knows that while his success is not absolutely certain, still he is in the direction of succeeding. Corrupt men do get rich and powerful, he knows, and hypocrites do pass for saints, and men who aspire for popularity do get it by their arts. He will not ignore facts. A few exceptions here and there will not make him believe that on the whole men do not get what they are struggling for, and so he plunges on all the more eagerly for your warning.
But now, suppose you take just the other tone. Suppose you say to him, not “You will fail,” but ”Probably you will succeed.” That was what Jesus said: “Verily, they have their reward.” The low ambition gets what it desires. The cheat does get the fortune. The demagogue gets the popularity. The hypocrite gets the name of piety, and the flippant sneerer gets the name of wit. You say to your friend: “If you go on, you will succeed. You will get the reward that properly belongs to the life you have chosen. But look at that reward and see what it is worth. See whether, painting it at its very brightest as you will, it is indeed worthy of your seeking. See whether such a success is not really a dreadful thing for a man to come to and be satisfied with, when there are in him powers of such a different sort that might bring him to such a different issue. Is it not in the rewards to which they come that the real hollowness and wretchedness of the things that you are doing show themselves out most manifestly?”
Now surely this is the truest ground to take. It looks the facts most truly in the face. I do not believe that you will ever make the drunkard leave off drink by telling him that drink does not exhilarate, nor even by pointing him to the headaches that follow when the exhilaration is all over; but only by showing him what a poor, low thing that kind of exhilaration is, and of how much better a man like him is capable. Point him to the crowd of rollicking inebriates, happy up to the very height of their desires, in the complete enjoyment of that for which they have given up clearness of brain, and tenderness of heart, and the joys of pure friendship, and the respect of men; point him to them in the full glory of their success and say: “Verily, they have their reward.” And what do you think of it? I do not believe you will ever rescue a man from the unreasonable slavery of business by telling him of the chances of his not succeeding, but rather by taking him and showing him what success amounts to. Show him the man who, by the mere business standard, has perfectly succeeded. Show him a life all given up to trade, and now travelling down to-wards the grave with hands burdened with a fortune that it cannot use. Show him the stunted nature; show him the table spread with food that the sick man cannot taste, the library crowded with books that the uncultured man cannot use, the free admission won at last into a society that the mere business machine cannot enjoy. Show him success.
Show him the rich man, whose life has been given up to getting his riches, at last in full possession of all he has been struggling for; and then, with the gorgeous picture glowing full before his eyes, ask him: “Is that, then, what you want? Does that then, satisfy you? Verily, he has his reward. “Is that the reward you want?” And many a time, he who would have braved defiantly every threat of failure, will feel the scales fall from his eyes and turn away disgusted as he looks at the poor, drudging mortal cursed by his complete success.
I should like to speak today about the danger of success. We hear a great deal about the danger of failure, and yet there are many things in which it is much more dangerous to succeed than it would be to fail. So many men have been ruined by succeeding in what they undertook, who might have been saved by failing. Let us look at it, and see what are some of the most prominent of the dangers of success.
And perhaps I can show it by certain illustrations, by citing certain common cases. Take a man who goes into public life. His object is to win public applause and so to win power. He has looked no higher than that. He has never aspired to true servantship of the people, nor to a real incorporation of the great principles of government into the life of the people he is set to rule. There is nothing either of the philanthropist or of the philosopher about his politics. Well, by-and-by, he succeeds. The people begin to praise him. He comes up to higher and higher office, and he wins little by little the power that he wants. To keep that power and to use it then becomes the business of his life. He looks no higher. He values no other sort of attainment. He has done his best, and has succeeded. What shall we say about him? If he were a friend of yours and if you had been watching him and really desiring his best good, and if you really saw how poor that prize was which, if he should reach it, would almost certainly have cut off all chance of spiritual growth and progress into higher ambitions from him forever, would you not rather have seen him fail than succeed? Would not failure, perhaps, have cast him back and, even if from mere disgust at first, still have compelled him to cast aside the unsuccess of policy and perhaps to have taken up with principle?
Or take the success of many a merchant. In a mercantile community like ours this must be what oftenest forces itself upon our notice. In every occupation there are certain special faculties employed. To seem to have those faculties supremely is the pride of him who is ambitious in that special occupation. To seem to be supremely shrewd and practical, to seem to be sharp, smart, quick at the turn of a bargain, able to make money and able to keep it, and this is the whole ambition of many a business man. When they have reached this, they will seem to themselves, to have reached the purpose of their life. But when we see what such a success makes out of many men, how it hardens them with selfishness and narrows them with pride; when we see how many young men who started full of various generous desires, aspiring after self-culture, dreaming of knowledge, craving usefulness, sensitive to religion, gentle with reverence, are swept by their mere business success into the close and confined career of the man who has no desire but for money, and as a wide river that lay open to the sunlight and lavished its fruitfulness on broad banks and on the shores of happy islands, is by-and-by all crowded and cramped in between narrow granite walls, where it foams and frets and rages and is hurried on like a whipped slave, and when we see this (and it is what our great business cities are full of) are we not ready to cry of many a man: “Oh, if he had only failed and not succeeded!” Are we not ready to pray for a friend, whose best good we desire, that he may not succeed too much? Do we not feel the danger of success?
But I want to apply the same idea in a higher field and in the field of religion. What I have just been saying all will agree to; what I would say about religion is no less true, though perhaps not so clear. Can there be a danger of too much success in religion? Is it possible that there can be peril to a man from being too easily prosperous in the religious life?
Let us remember what religion is, what its great purpose is. The purpose of religion is to bring the human soul to God. The soul religiously successful is the soul that really has come to God, and laid itself on Him in perfect love and absolute obedience. Of that success there cannot be too much. To all eternity the soul of man redeemed shall always be coming nearer to, deeper and deeper into the soul of God. But that final and complete attainment is reached through other attainments ; and one of these subordinate attainments is the clear and certain holding of doctrinal truth. It is a subordinate attainment ; not to know truth but to come to God is the ultimate glory of religious life. And now, if it is sometimes the case that the easy and comfortable acceptance of truth, the ready belief of these great verities of Christianity, hinders instead of helps the soul in its approach to God; then, even here, there is an instance of the danger of success that is most striking and that we ought to understand. It is not easy to state. I think, at least I hope, that I have made it clear to you often enough that I have no sympathy with, nor tolerance for, the disbelief that disbelieves for the mere pride of disbelieving. God forbid that I should ever lead any soul to think that the simplicity and directness of its faith was a sign that its faith was superficial or insincere. Let me never seem to teach that doubt in itself is better than belief as such. But while I say this strongly, none the less I am sure that there is a certain doubt that is better than a certain belief. There is a belief that is traditional, easy because it never asks a question, placid because it is so shallow, and that, calm as it looks, is not so good as the tumult of eagerness, which, making religion a thing of life or death, will not be satisfied till it has had an answer to a hundred questions, to know the answers to some of which a man must verily be God Himself.
And now, if a man makes it the object of his Christianity not to come near to God, but merely to establish himself in a certain set of doctrines; and if in time he reaches his desire and stands with his creed all compact and formulated, each part fitted into its neighbor part so that, whatever happens, no shock ever comes to the structure of his well-jointed faith, then what shall we say of him? What can we say but just what Jesus said? ”Verily, he has his re-ward.” He has built up his faith, and he keeps it so abstract, so apart from these terrible life problems that are rampant in the world, that it never feels their disturbing influence. While other men are shaking with bewilderment, while David is perplexed and troubled at the dreadful mysteries of Providence, while Paul is wondering at God’s treatment of him, this man’s faith stands apart and unshaken. He looks with pity or contempt on every doubter. He lives a more comfortable mental life than they do, but he does not accomplish so com-pletely the real purpose of all religion as he does not come so near to God. He has his reward in careless days and peaceful nights. But it is not good for him. Some time or other God blesses him if He lets a great sorrow or a great bewilderment plow down through his easy faith, and turn it up in great furrows to the very core.
And what is true about faith is true also about peacefulness. That, too, is dangerous if it is not pure and thorough and profound. A man accepts some superficial and mechanical notion of Christianity. He is rescued from the fear of God’s retribution, God’s revenge. He is now God’s child, but his faith rests on unfelt truths. The soul convinced of this peace settles into the consciousness of its own happiness and easily grows pharisaical as it looks at the poor, troubled spirits which have not reached the rest it has attained. What is there that shall disturb it? Salvation means the escape from everlasting punishment. What shall it seek for more? For it, no daily struggle to grow near to Christ, no daily sense of how far off from Christ the soul is living, keeps the whole nature in disturbance. No fight with sin, no dissatisfaction with itself, no half-despairing sense of its own feebleness ever coming up into sight, no impatience after the Christ who as the soul approaches Him seems to loom up all the more forbidding as He is the more tempting in His purity, and none of all this ever disturbs with a ripple nor darkens with a cloud the perfect peacefulness of the soul which, with its purely mechanical conception of religion, thinks itself safe, and with its cushions and its comforts travels along to its assured and entirely unawful heaven. God forbid that I should depreciate or deny the Christian’s peace in Christ, but this is something wholly different from that. That is a peace consistent with eagerness, anxiety, and toil. “Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion! ” The man who gives up seeking to be like God, and makes his religious satisfaction to consist in the assurance that he is not going to be punished in the other world, gets what he seeks. He attains a comfortable peacefulness. He has his reward ; but it would be better for him if he never had it, for that very peacefulness and satisfaction keep him away from God.
And the same thing is true of Christian influence. We all know that we ought to do good to one another, that what the Lord has given us was not given us for ourselves alone, but for our brethren too. And there are powerful and effective ministries which, as we look about, we all know that we can render to some one or some number of people by our side. But the best ministry, the real ministry of one soul to another is always of a laborious and quiet sort. It requires studious sympathy. It must draw near to the nature that it wants to help, in patient, silent ways. Very often it must sacrifice the favor of its object, and even provoke his enmity, that it may deal frankly with him and do him good. All this is laborious and makes no noise, and so it is no wonder that a more prominent and easier type of work for fellow-men, an external and unsympathetic lecturing of men’s sins, takes the place of this unseen, painful work which goes on so toilsomely, so silently, between soul and soul.
Oh, it does almost anger one sometimes, when one is in his weakest moods, most capable of being angered, to see who are the most recognized laborers for fellow-men, the helpers of their brethren whom all men praise. The cheap satirist of social vices, who never goes down to their bottom to cure the social discontents out of which they spring ; the professional philanthropist, the preacher or the lecturer who only abuses his fellow-men and never tries to understand them; the busy-body giver of advice who flutters here and there like a stupid gardener through his garden, pulling up all the flowers that will not grow just his way; and all these are the men whom people praise and say, “See how much good they do!”
So we might go on with many illustrations. The fact which all of them illustrate seems only too plain. Is it not this? I beg you to notice it, remember it, see if it is not true that every work which it is right for man to do has its legitimate and true result, hard to attain, and more manifest to God than to men when it is attained ; and that these perfect results of things have always certain copies or imitations or counterfeits which look like them, which are easy to reach and which attract men’s attention; that the counterfeit result is always trying to slip itself into the place of the real result, and, furthermore, that a success in the attainment of the counterfeit is dangerously apt to delude men and distract them, and turn them off from the reality they ought to be pursuing.
I do not know the occupation to which this will not apply, in which the true ambition is not always haunted by a false ambition that is always trying to slip into its place. The merchant’s service to the community and his own self-interest; the politician’s public spirit and his ambition: the school teacher’s desire to teach his scholars and his desire to make them shine: the minister’s wish to save souls and his wish to be popular; the lawyer’s love for justice and his love for technicalities; the church-member’s love for men’s souls and his pride in the growth of his denomination; the Christian’s longing for truth and God and his satisfaction in a creed and in safety; everywhere the sham besets the reality, the counterfeit lurks close beside the genuine and tries to make men accept it in her place. If men do take it they get their reward, but the temporary peace or pleasure that they gain is paid for by the loss of fuller culture and the final joy which only the real and perfect things can give. Oh, for more thoroughness, no matter what it costs ! for more determination to be satisfied with nothing but the highest and the best!
In heaven every good act shall have not merely its own essential excellence, but it shall leap at once into some blessed influence, it shall fill with unmixed joy the soul of him who does it, and all the multitudes of the New Jerusalem shall see its beauty instantly and praise it with hearts incapable of envy or detraction. But not in this imperfect world, with these im-perfect men, how is it? Where is the act that wins all these deserts of goodness? Where is the act that is righteous and useful and delightful and pop-ular all at once? Once in a lifetime there may come such a golden act, but how few they are!
My dear friends, may we not describe the difference in men’s lives simply by saying that it depends on whether they begin at the top or bottom of that scale in their choice of actions? One man begins at the top and runs down : Righteousness, if it is convenient; usefulness, if it comes in my way; pleasure, if I’ can arrange it; but popularity anyhow! Another man begins at the bottom and runs up: Applause, if men choose to give it to me; pleasure, if God bestows that privilege; usefulness, if I may have so great and sweet a boon ; but righteousness certainly, though everything else must go with one sweep to attain it.
Which class do we belong to? As we look at the life of lives, the life of Jesus, there can be no doubt about Him. He trod popularity under his feet. He let pleasure go, and lived a life of pain. He would not, even to help men, go out of the way of righteousness. Nothing could weigh with Him against the necessity that He should do His Father’s Will. Do you think He did not care for all the others? Was not the praise of brother-man sweet to His intense and genuine humanity? Did not that perfect nature delight in the pleasures that humanity was made to feel? Let us never picture to ourselves the Lord as an unsensitive, hard man, to whom it cost nothing to give up the things that other men yield to and that occupy their lives. He felt every surrender as we do not know how to feel it, but He turned away to do that Will which He had come to do, that Will which was to Him the one precious, absolute thing in the universe; and as He looked back on His brethren seeking their pleasure, winning one another’s praise, it was with a keen appreciation of the lower success which He had sacrificed to reach the higher, with a clear sense of its value, though without a shade of regret at its loss, that He said, “Yes, verily, they have their reward.” It was as if the man who had climbed a snowy peak stood cold and tired in the midst of all the glory on the very top, and looked down into the valley and thought how warm and comfortable were the peasants by their firesides, and was never so thankful as just then that he had not been content to tarry by the fireside, but had struggled through every difficulty to the top.
How the very thought of Jesus gives us the true spirit in which everything that duty calls us to surrender ought to be given up! It is not good for any man to give up any success for the sake of a higher success, and yet to go about grudging that success which he has surrendered to the men who are still satisfied with it. You give up riches in order to be honest and do good ; thenceforth the joy of doing good ought to be so great to you that no shadow of envy should sweep over your face as the carriages of the rich men spatter you upon the street. You choose the happiness of sobriety; thenceforth it is not worthy of you to feel vexed at the temporary exhilaration which the carousing drunkards get out of their dissipation. You deliberately make your religion a serious and thoughtful thing; you deter- mine not to be satisfied with the mere surface of it; you open its deep, puzzling questions and you let in upon your soul many a puzzling and bewildering doubt: it may be you are doing well, but at any rate do not complain of the price you pay for the more intelligent faith that you are seeking. Do not complain that you have not the smooth and careless life of the traditional, undoubting believer who never asks a question and so has none to answer. It is a beautiful satisfaction in the highest success which can look the brilliancy of the lower successes in the face, and say, without a shade of grudge or bitterness, “Yes, they have their reward,” and say it without conceited superiority and without feeble envy.
This seems to me important. I think I see so many Christians, men who have chosen Christ, who are not deeply, thoroughly satisfied with the Christ whom they have chosen. They have really chosen Him. They know there is a happiness in Him that wickedness cannot give, but this happiness lies so deep! They know that it is there, but they have not uncovered it yet—not all of it. They see some fragments of it, and they know that the rest is there. But here lies the happiness of wickedness– all plain and open. It sparkles in the sunshine. Its laughter rings out on the air. I think that there are a great many good people who wish that wicked people did not seem so happy. It puzzles them. They know that they are happier, but somehow their happiness is not so palpable. It lies far off. It lies deep down. The eating and drinking and merriment bewilder and amaze the patient toiler after righteousness, who has given up everything else that he may win Christ. He is not able all at once to measure their success and see its value, and say ungrudgingly and pityingly : “Yes, that is the joy that belongs to that kind of life—the joy that I put behind me once for all when I chose Christ. They have their reward. Let me press forward, and every day a little more and more have mine.”
What shall such a half-discontented Christian do? He does not dream of turning back and giving up his Master. He is only bewildered. All he must do is to stand firm. In ever new obedience let him give his Master ever new opportunity to show him the deeper and deeper richness of His love. As he goes on, as he learns more of Christ, as he sees more of what it is to serve Him, he will leave all these half-regrets behind him. It will no more trouble him that lower ambitions find their lower rewards, than it seems an injustice to the strong man, toiling in the delight of health and self-dependence for his daily bread, that his little dog frisks by his side, or sleeps in the sunshine and does no work. It is the satisfaction of the soul in Christ that makes the injustices of this world seem all right and clear. We shall have it perfectly when we get to heaven, and we might have far more of it than we do have now.
The danger of every success except the highest! Let us be afraid of every prosperity and rest that our souls find, except that which they find in righteousness and Christ. And when they come there, and are found in Him, then let them be satisfied; for all things are theirs when once they are wholly Christ’s.

Hymn for Today:
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” by Walter Chalmers Smith
1. Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
2. Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice like mountains high soaring above
thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
3. To all, life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish, but naught changeth thee.
4. Thou reignest in glory; thou dwellest in light;
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all laud we would render: O help us to see
’tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.

Through the Bible in One Year:
Deuteronomy 31 to 34
1 Moses went and spoke to all Israel as follows,
2 ‘Today, I am one hundred and twenty years old, and can no longer act as leader. Yahweh has told me, “You shall not cross this Jordan.”
3 Yahweh your God himself will lead you across, he himself will destroy and dispossess these nations confronting you; Joshua too will lead you across, as Yahweh has said.
4 Yahweh will treat them as he has treated Sihon and Og the Amorite kings and their country — he destroyed them.
5 Yahweh will put them at your mercy, and you will deal with them exactly as prescribed by the commandments which I have laid down for you.
6 Be strong, stand firm, have no fear, do not be afraid of them, for Yahweh your God is going with you; he will not fail you or desert you.’
7 Moses then summoned Joshua and, in the presence of all Israel, said to him, ‘Be strong, stand firm; you will be the one to go with this people into the country which Yahweh has sworn to their ancestors that he would give them; you are to be the one who puts them into possession of it.
8 Yahweh himself will lead you; he will be with you; he will not fail you or desert you. Have no fear, do not be alarmed.’
9 Moses committed this Law to writing and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel.
10 And Moses gave them this command, ‘At the end of every seven years, at the time fixed for the year of remission, at the feast of Shelters,
11 when all Israel assembles in the presence of Yahweh your God in the place chosen by him, you must proclaim this Law in the hearing of all Israel.
12 Call the people together, men, women, children, and the foreigner residing with you, so that, hearing it, they may learn to fear Yahweh your God and keep and observe all the words of this Law.
13 Their children, who as yet do not know it, will hear it and learn to fear Yahweh your God, all the time you live in the country which you are crossing the Jordan to possess.’
14 Yahweh said to Moses, ‘And now the time is near when you must die. Summon Joshua and take your places at the Tent of Meeting, so that I can give him his orders.’ Moses and Joshua went and took their places at the Tent of Meeting,
15 and Yahweh showed himself at the Tent in a pillar of cloud; the pillar of cloud stood at the door of the Tent.
16 Yahweh said to Moses, ‘You will soon be sleeping with your ancestors, and this people is about to play the harlot by following the gods of the foreigners of the country, among whom they are going to live. They will desert me and break my covenant, which I have made with them.
17 That very day, my anger will blaze against them; I shall desert them and hide my face from them. A host of disasters and misfortunes will overtake them to devour them, and when that day comes they will say, “If such disasters overtake me, surely Yahweh my God cannot be with me?”
18 Yes indeed, I shall hide my face that day, on account of all the evil which they will have done by turning to other gods.
19 ‘Now write down this song for you to use; teach it to the Israelites, put it into their mouths, for it to be a witness on my behalf against the Israelites:
20 against Israel, whom I am bringing into the country which I swore to his ancestors that I would give him, a country flowing with milk and honey: against Israel, who will eat to his heart’s content and grow fat, and will then turn to other gods and serve them, despising me and breaking my covenant.
21 When a host of disasters and misfortunes overtakes him, this song, like a witness, will give evidence against him, since his descendants will not have forgotten it. Yes, even today, before I have brought him to the country which I have promised him on oath, I know what plans he has in mind.’
22 So, that day, Moses wrote out this song and taught it to the Israelites.
23 To Joshua son of Nun, Yahweh gave this order, ‘Be strong and stand firm, for you are to be the one to bring the Israelites into the country which I have promised them on oath, and I myself shall be with you.’
24 When Moses had completely finished writing the words of this Law in a book,
25 he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of Yahweh’s covenant:
26 ‘Take the book of this Law and put it beside the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God. Let it lie there as evidence against you.
27 For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If today, while I am still alive and with you, you rebel against Yahweh, how much more will you rebel against him after my death!
28 ‘Gather all your tribal elders and scribes round me, so that I may be sure that they hear these words, as I call heaven and earth to witness against them.
29 For I know that after my death you are certain to grow corrupt; you will leave the way which I have marked out for you; in the final days disaster will befall you for having done what is evil in Yahweh’s eyes, for having provoked his anger by your behaviour.’
30 In the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel, Moses then recited the words of this song to the end:
1 Listen, heavens, while I speak; hear, earth, the words that I shall say!
2 May my teaching fall like the rain, may my word drop down like the dew, like showers on the grass, like light rain on the turf!
3 For I shall proclaim the name of Yahweh. Oh, tell the greatness of our God!
4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are equitable. A trustworthy God who does no wrong, he is the Honest, the Upright One!
5 They have acted perversely, those he fathered without blemish, a deceitful and underhand brood.
6 Is this the return you make to Yahweh? O people brainless and unwise! Is this not your father, who gave you being, who made you, by whom you subsist?
7 Think back on the days of old, think over the years, down the ages. Question your father, let him explain to you, your elders, and let them tell you!
8 When the Most High gave the nations each their heritage, when he partitioned out the human race, he assigned the boundaries of nations according to the number of the children of God,
9 but Yahweh’s portion was his people, Jacob was to be the measure of his inheritance.
10 In the desert he finds him, in the howling expanses of the wastelands. He protects him, rears him, guards him as the pupil of his eye.
11 Like an eagle watching its nest, hovering over its young, he spreads out his wings to hold him, he supports him on his pinions.
12 Yahweh alone is his guide; no alien god for him!
13 He gives him the heights of the land to ride, he feeds him on the yield of the mountains, he gives him honey from the rock to taste, and oil from the flinty crag;
14 curds from the cattle, milk from the flock, and the richness of the pasture, rams of Bashan’s breed, and goats, the richness of the wheat kernel; the fermented blood of the grape for drink.
15 Jacob has eaten to his heart’s content, Jeshurun, grown fat, has now lashed out. (You have grown fat, gross, bloated.) He has disowned the God who made him, and dishonoured the Rock, his salvation,
16 whose jealousy they aroused with foreigners — with things detestable they angered him.
17 They sacrificed to demons who are not God, to gods hitherto unknown to them, to newcomers of yesterday whom their ancestors had never respected.
18 (You forget the Rock who fathered you, the God who made you, you no longer remember.)
19 Yahweh saw it and, in anger, he spurned his sons and daughters.
20 ‘I shall hide my face from them,’ he said, ‘and see what will become of them. For they are a deceitful brood, children with no loyalty in them.
21 They have roused me to jealousy with a non-god, they have exasperated me with their idols. In my turn I shall rouse them to jealousy with a non-people, I shall exasperate them with a stupid nation.
22 Yes, a fire has blazed from my anger, it will burn right down to the depths of Sheol; it will devour the earth and all its produce, it will set fire to the footings of the mountains.
23 I shall hurl disasters on them, on them I shall use up all my arrows.
24 They will be weakened by hunger, eaten away by plague and the bitter scourge. Against them I shall send the fang of wild animals and the poison of snakes that glide in the dust.
25 Outside, the sword bereaves, while inside terror will reign. Young man and girl alike will perish, suckling and greybeard both together.
26 I should crush them to dust, I said, I should wipe out all memory of them,
27 did I not fear the boasting of the enemy.’ But do not let their foes be mistaken! Do not let them say, ‘We have got the upper hand and Yahweh plays no part in this.’
28 What a short-sighted nation this is, how thoroughly imperceptive!
29 Were they wise, they would succeed, they would be able to read their destiny.
30 How else could one man rout a thousand, how could two put ten thousand to flight, were it not that their Rock has sold them, that Yahweh has delivered them up?
31 But their rock is not like our Rock; our enemies cannot pray for us!
32 For their vine springs from the stock of Sodom and from the groves of Gomorrah: their grapes are poisonous grapes, their clusters are bitter;
33 their wine is snakes’ poison, the vipers’ cruel venom.
34 But he, is he not safe with me, sealed inside my treasury?
35 Vengeance is mine, I will pay them back, for the time when they make a false step. For the day of their ruin is close, doom is rushing towards them, for he will see to it that their power fails. that neither serf nor free man remains.
36 (For Yahweh will see his people righted, he will take pity on his servants.)
37 ‘Where are their gods then?’ he will ask, ‘the rock where they sought refuge,
38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their libations?’ Let these arise and help you, let these be the shelter above you!
39 See now that I, I am he, and beside me there is no other god. It is I who deal death and life; when I have struck, it is I who heal (no one can rescue anyone from me).
40 Yes, I raise my hand to heaven, and I say, ‘As surely as I live for ever,
41 When I have whetted my flashing sword, I shall enforce justice, I shall return vengeance to my foes, I shall take vengeance on my foes.
42 I shall make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword will feed on flesh: the blood of the wounded and the prisoners, the dishevelled heads of the enemy!’
43 Heavens, rejoice with him, let all the children of God pay him homage! Nations, rejoice with his people, let God’s envoys tell of his power! For he will avenge the blood of his servants, he will return vengeance to my foes, he will repay those who hate him and purify his people’s country.
44 Moses came with Joshua son of Nun and recited all the words of this song in the people’s hearing.
45 When Moses had finished reciting these words to all Israel,
46 he said to them, ‘Take all these words to heart; I intend them today to be evidence against you. You must order your children to keep and observe all the words of this Law.
47 You must not think of this as empty words, for the Law is your life, and by its means you will live long in the country which you are crossing the Jordan to possess.’
48 Yahweh spoke to Moses that same day and said to him,
49 ‘Climb this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, in the country of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the Canaan which I am giving to the Israelites as their domain.
50 Die on the mountain you have climbed, and be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.
51 Because, with the other Israelites, you broke faith with me at the Waters of Meribah-Kadesh in the desert of Zin, because you did not make my holiness clear to the Israelites;
52 you may only see the country from outside; you cannot enter it — the country which I am giving to the Israelites.’
1 This is the blessing that Moses, man of God, pronounced over the Israelites before he died.
2 He said: Yahweh came from Sinai, from Seir he dawned on us, from Mount Paran blazed forth, For them he came, after the mustering at Kadesh, from his zenith as far as the foothills.
3 You who love the ancestors! Your holy ones are all at your command. At your feet they fell, under your guidance went swiftly on.
4 (Moses enjoined a law on us.) The assembly of Jacob comes into its inheritance;
5 there was a king in Jeshurun when the heads of the people foregathered and the tribes of Israel were all assembled!
6 May Reuben survive and not die out, survive though his men be few!
7 Of Judah he said this: Listen, Yahweh, to the voice of Judah, and bring him back to his people. That his hands may defend his rights, come to his help against his foes!
8 Of Levi he said: To Levi, give your urim, to your faithful one, your thummim, having tested him at Massah, having striven with him at the Waters of Meribah.
9 Of his father and mother, he says, ‘I have not seen them.’ He does not acknowledge his brothers, nor does he know his own children. Yes, they have kept your word, they hold firmly to your covenant.
10 They will teach your customs to Jacob, and your Law to Israel. They will put incense before you and burnt offerings on your altar.
11 Yahweh, bless his worthiness, and accept the actions he performs. Crush the loins of those who rise against him and of his foes, so that they rise no more!
12 Of Benjamin he said: Beloved of Yahweh, he rests trustfully near him. The Most High protects him day after day and dwells between his hillsides.
13 Of Joseph he said: His land is blessed by Yahweh. For him the best of heaven’s dew and of the deep that lies below,
14 the best of what the sun makes grow, of what springs with every month,
15 the first-fruits of the ancient mountains, the best from the hills of old
16 the best of the land and all it holds, the favour of him who dwells in the Bush. May the hair grow thick on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the consecrated one among his brothers!
17 First-born of the Bull, his the glory. His horns are the wild ox’s horns, with which he gores the peoples to the very ends of the earth. Such are the myriads of Ephraim, such are the thousands of Manasseh.
18 Of Zebulun he said: Prosper, Zebulun, in your expeditions, and you, Issachar, in your tents!
19 On the mountain where the people come to pray they offer upright sacrifices, for they taste the riches of the seas and the treasures hidden in the sands.
20 Of Gad he said: Blessed be he who gives Gad space enough! He lies there like a lioness; he has savaged arm and face and head.
21 Then he took the first portion for himself, saw that there was stored up for him a leader’s share. He has come at the head of the people, has carried out the saving justice of Yahweh and his judgements on Israel.
22 Of Dan he said: Dan is a lion cub leaping from Bashan.
23 Of Naphtali he said: Naphtali, sated with favours, filled with the blessings of Yahweh: the west and south are to be his domain.
24 Of Asher he said: Most blessed of the sons let Asher be! Let him be the most privileged of his brothers and let him bathe his feet in oil!
25 Be your bolts of iron and of bronze and your security as lasting as your days!
26 No one is like the God of Jeshurun: he rides the heavens to your rescue, rides the clouds in his majesty!
27 The God of old is your refuge, his the eternal arm which here below drives the enemy before you; he it is who says, ‘Destroy!’
28 Israel rests trustfully. The well-spring of Jacob is chosen out for a land of corn and wine; there heaven itself rains down dew.
29 Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, O victorious people? Yahweh is the shield that protects you and the sword that leads you to triumph. Your enemies will try to corrupt you, but you yourself will trample on their backs.
1 Then, leaving the Plains of Moab, Moses went up Mount Nebo, the peak of Pisgah opposite Jericho, and Yahweh showed him the whole country: Gilead as far as Dan,
2 the whole of Naphtali, the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, the whole country of Judah as far as the Western Sea,
3 the Negeb, and the region of the Valley of Jericho, city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.
4 Yahweh said to him, ‘This is the country which I promised on oath to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying: I shall give it to your descendants. I have allowed you to see it for yourself, but you will not cross into it.’
5 There in the country of Moab, Moses, servant of Yahweh, died as Yahweh decreed;
6 he buried him in the valley, in the country of Moab, opposite Beth-Peor; but to this day no one has ever found his grave.
7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye undimmed, his vigour unimpaired.
8 The Israelites wept for Moses on the Plains of Moab for thirty days. The days of weeping for the mourning rites of Moses came to an end.
9 Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him, and him the Israelites obeyed, carrying out the order which Yahweh had given to Moses.
10 Since then, there has never been such a prophet in Israel as Moses, the man whom Yahweh knew face to face.
11 What signs and wonders Yahweh caused him to perform in Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants and his whole country!
12 How mighty the hand and great the fear that Moses wielded in the eyes of all Israel!(New Jerusalem Bible)

Daily Office for Friday, January 20, 2012:
Psalm 31
1 [For the choirmaster Psalm Of David] In you, Yahweh, I have taken refuge, let me never be put to shame, in your saving justice deliver me, rescue me,
2 turn your ear to me, make haste. Be for me a rock-fastness, a fortified citadel to save me.
3 You are my rock, my rampart; true to your name, lead me and guide me!
4 Draw me out of the net they have spread for me, for you are my refuge;
5 to your hands I commit my spirit, by you have I been redeemed. God of truth,
6 you hate those who serve useless idols; but my trust is in Yahweh:
7 I will delight and rejoice in your faithful love! You, who have seen my misery, and witnessed the miseries of my soul,
8 have not handed me over to the enemy, but have given me freedom to roam at large.
9 Take pity on me, Yahweh, for I am in trouble. Vexation is gnawing away my eyes, my soul deep within me.
10 For my life is worn out with sorrow, and my years with sighs. My strength gives way under my misery, and my bones are all wasted away.
11 The sheer number of my enemies makes me contemptible, loathsome to my neighbours, and my friends shrink from me in horror. When people see me in the street they take to their heels.
12 I have no more place in their hearts than a corpse, or something lost.
13 All I hear is slander — terror wherever I turn — as they plot together against me, scheming to take my life.
14 But my trust is in you, Yahweh; I say, ‘You are my God,’
15 every moment of my life is in your hands, rescue me from the clutches of my foes who pursue me;
16 let your face shine on your servant, save me in your faithful love.
17 I call on you, Yahweh, so let disgrace fall not on me, but on the wicked. Let them go down to Sheol in silence,
18 muzzles on their lying mouths, which speak arrogantly against the upright in pride and contempt.
19 Yahweh, what quantities of good things you have in store for those who fear you, and bestow on those who make you their refuge, for all humanity to see.
20 Safe in your presence you hide them, far from human plotting, shielding them in your tent, far from contentious tongues.
21 Blessed be Yahweh who works for me miracles of his faithful love (in a fortified city)!
22 In a state of terror I cried, ‘I have been cut off from your sight!’ Yet you heard my plea for help when I cried out to you.
23 Love Yahweh, all his faithful: Yahweh protects his loyal servants, but he repays the arrogant with interest.
24 Be brave, take heart, all who put your hope in Yahweh.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 35
1 [Of David] Accuse my accusers, Yahweh, attack my attackers.
2 Grasp your buckler and shield, up, and help me.
3 Brandish spear and pike to confront my pursuers, give me the assurance, ‘I am your Saviour.’
4 Shame and humiliation on those who are out to kill me! Defeat and repulse in dismay on those who plot my downfall.
5 May they be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of Yahweh to chase them.
6 May their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of Yahweh to hound them.
7 Unprovoked they laid their snare for me, unprovoked dug a trap to kill me.
8 Ruin comes upon them unawares; the snare they have laid will catch them, and into their own trap they will fall.
9 Then I shall delight in Yahweh, rejoice that he has saved me.
10 My very bones will all exclaim, Yahweh, who can compare with you in rescuing the poor from the oppressor; the needy from the exploiter?
11 False witnesses come forward against me asking me questions I cannot answer, they cross-examine me,
12 repay my kindness with cruelty, make my life barren.
13 But I, when they were ill, had worn sackcloth, and mortified myself with fasting, praying ever anew in my heart,
14 as if for a friend or brother; I had wandered restless, as if mourning a mother, so bowed had I been in sorrow.
15 When I stumble they gather in glee, gather around me; strangers I never even knew tear me apart incessantly.
16 If I fall they surround me, grinding their teeth at me.
17 How much longer, Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their onslaughts, from young lions rescue the one life that I have.
18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly praise you where the people gather.
19 Let not my lying enemies gloat over me; those who hate me unprovoked look askance at me.
20 They have no greeting of peace to the peace-loving people of the land; they think up deceptive speeches.
21 Their mouths wide open to accuse me, they say, ‘Come on now, we saw you.’
22 You saw it, Yahweh, do not stay silent; Lord, do not stand aloof from me.
23 Up, awake, to my defence, my God and my Lord, to my cause.
24 In your saving justice give judgement for me, Yahweh my God, and do not let them gloat over me.
25 Do not let them think, ‘Just as we hoped,’ nor, ‘Now we have swallowed him up.’
26 Shame and dismay on them all who gloat over my misfortunes. Let all who profit at my expense be covered with shame and disgrace.
27 But let all who delight in my uprightness shout for joy and gladness; let them constantly say, ‘Great is Yahweh, who delights to see his servant in peace.’
28 And my tongue shall recount your saving justice, all day long sing your praise.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Genesis 11:27-12:8
27 These are Terah’s descendants: Terah fathered Abram, Nahor and Haran. Haran fathered Lot.
28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in his native land, Ur of the Chaldaeans.
29 Abram and Nahor both married: Abram’s wife was called Sarai, Nahor’s wife was called Milcah daughter of Haran, father of Milcah and Iscah.
30 Sarai was barren, having no child.
31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law the wife of Abram, and made them leave Ur of the Chaldaeans to go to the land of Canaan. But on arrival in Haran they settled there.
32 Terah’s life lasted two hundred and five years; then he died at Haran.
1 Yahweh said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your kindred and your father’s house for a country which I shall show you;
2 and I shall make you a great nation, I shall bless you and make your name famous; you are to be a blessing!
3 I shall bless those who bless you, and shall curse those who curse you, and all clans on earth will bless themselves by you.’
4 So Abram went as Yahweh told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
5 Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had amassed and the people they had acquired in Haran. They set off for the land of Canaan, and arrived there.
6 Abram passed through the country as far as the holy place at Shechem, the Oak of Moreh. The Canaanites were in the country at the time.
7 Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, ‘I shall give this country to your progeny.’ And there, Abram built an altar to Yahweh who had appeared to him.
8 From there he moved on to the mountainous district east of Bethel, where he pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and invoked the name of Yahweh.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Hebrews 7:1-17
1 Melchizedek, king of Salem, a priest of God Most High, came to meet Abraham when he returned from defeating the kings, and blessed him;
2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. By the interpretation of his name, he is, first, ‘king of saving justice’ and also king of Salem, that is, ‘king of peace’;
3 he has no father, mother or ancestry, and his life has no beginning or ending; he is like the Son of God. He remains a priest for ever.
4 Now think how great this man must have been, if the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the finest plunder.
5 We know that any of the descendants of Levi who are admitted to the priesthood are obliged by the Law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their own brothers although they too are descended from Abraham.
6 But this man, who was not of the same descent, took his tithe from Abraham, and he gave his blessing to the holder of the promises.
7 Now it is indisputable that a blessing is given by a superior to an inferior.
8 Further, in the normal case it is ordinary mortal men who receive the tithes, whereas in that case it was one who is attested as being alive.
9 It could be said that Levi himself, who receives tithes, actually paid tithes, in the person of Abraham,
10 because he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek came to meet him.
11 Now if perfection had been reached through the levitical priesthood — and this was the basis of the Law given to the people — why was it necessary for a different kind of priest to arise, spoken of as being of the order of Melchizedek rather than of the order of Aaron?
12 Any change in the priesthood must mean a change in the Law as well.
13 So our Lord, of whom these things were said, belonged to a different tribe, the members of which have never done service at the altar;
14 everyone knows he came from Judah, a tribe which Moses did not mention at all when dealing with priests.
15 This becomes even more clearly evident if another priest, of the type of Melchizedek, arises who is a priest
16 not in virtue of a law of physical descent, but in virtue of the power of an indestructible life.
17 For he is attested by the prophecy: You are a priest for ever of the order of Melchizedek.(New Jerusalem Bible)
John 4:16-26
16 ‘Go and call your husband,’ said Jesus to her, ‘and come back here.’
17 The woman answered, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right to say, “I have no husband”;
18 for although you have had five, the one you now have is not your husband. You spoke the truth there.’
19 ‘I see you are a prophet, sir,’ said the woman.
20 ‘Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, though you say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’
21 Jesus said: Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know; for salvation comes from the Jews.
23 But the hour is coming — indeed is already here — when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: that is the kind of worshipper the Father seeks.
24 God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.
25 The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah — that is, Christ — is coming; and when he comes he will explain everything.’
26 Jesus said, ‘That is who I am, I who speak to you.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
Fabian:
Psalm 126
1 [Song of Ascents] When Yahweh brought back Zion’s captives we lived in a dream;
2 then our mouths filled with laughter, and our lips with song. Then the nations kept saying, ‘What great deeds Yahweh has done for them!’
3 Yes, Yahweh did great deeds for us, and we were overjoyed.
4 Bring back, Yahweh, our people from captivity like torrents in the Negeb!
5 Those who sow in tears sing as they reap.
6 He went off, went off weeping, carrying the seed. He comes back, comes back singing, bringing in his sheaves.(New Jerusalem Bible)
2 Esdras 2:42-48
42 I, Ezra, saw on Mount Zion a great multitude that I could not number, and they all were praising the Lord with songs. 43In their midst was a young man of great stature, taller than any of the others, and on the head of each of them he placed a crown, but he was more exalted than they. And I was held spellbound. 44Then I asked an angel, ‘Who are these, my lord?’ 45He answered and said to me, ‘These are they who have put off mortal clothing and have put on the immortal, and have confessed the name of God. Now they are being crowned, and receive palms.’ 46Then I said to the angel, ‘Who is that young man who is placing crowns on them and putting palms in their hands?’ 47He answered and said to me, ‘He is the Son of God, whom they confessed in the world.’ So I began to praise those who had stood valiantly for the name of the Lord.* 48Then the angel said to me, ‘Go, tell my people how great and how many are the wonders of the Lord God that you have seen.’(New Revised Standard Version)
1 Corinthians 15:31-36,44b-49
31 I swear by the pride that I take in you, in Christ Jesus our Lord, that I face death every day.
32 If I fought wild animals at Ephesus in a purely human perspective, what had I to gain by it?
33 If the dead are not going to be raised, then Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall be dead.
34 So do not let anyone lead you astray, ‘Bad company corrupts good ways.’ Wake up from your stupor as you should and leave sin alone; some of you have no understanding of God; I tell you this to instil some shame in you.
35 Someone may ask: How are dead people raised, and what sort of body do they have when they come?
36 How foolish! What you sow must die before it is given new life;
44 what is sown is a natural body, and what is raised is a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is a spiritual body too.
45 So the first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; and the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit.
46 But first came the natural body, not the spiritual one; that came only afterwards.
47 The first man, being made of earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven.
48 The earthly man is the pattern for earthly people, the heavenly man for heavenly ones.
49 And as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so we shall bear the likeness of the heavenly one.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Luke 21:20-24
20 ‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you must realise that it will soon be laid desolate.
21 Then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains, those inside the city must leave it, and those in country districts must not take refuge in it.
22 For this is the time of retribution when all that scripture says must be fulfilled.
23 Alas for those with child, or with babies at the breast, when those days come!
24 ‘For great misery will descend on the land and retribution on this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive to every gentile country; and Jerusalem will be trampled down by the gentiles until their time is complete.(New Jerusalem Bible)
1 Samuel 24:2–20
2 Once Saul was back from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, ‘David is now in the desert of En-Gedi.’
3 Saul thereupon took three thousand men selected from all Israel and went in search of David and his men east of the Rocks of the Mountain Goats.
4 He came to the sheepfolds along the route, where there was a cave, and went in to cover his feet. Now David and his men were sitting in the recesses of the cave;
5 David’s men said to him, ‘Today is the day of which Yahweh said to you, “I shall deliver your enemy into your power; do what you like with him.” ‘ David got up and, unobserved, cut off the border of Saul’s cloak.
6 Afterwards David reproached himself for having cut off the border of Saul’s cloak.
7 He said to his men, ‘Yahweh preserve me from doing such a thing to my lord as to raise my hand against him, since he is Yahweh’s anointed.’
8 By these words David restrained his men and would not let them attack Saul.
9 Saul then left the cave and went on his way. After this, David too left the cave and called after Saul, ‘My lord king!’ Saul looked behind him and David, bowing to the ground, prostrated himself.
10 David then said to Saul, ‘Why do you listen to people who say, “David intends your ruin”?
11 This very day you have seen for yourself how Yahweh put you in my power in the cave and how, refusing to kill you, I spared you saying, “I will not raise my hand against my lord, since he is Yahweh’s anointed.”
12 Look, father, look at the border of your cloak in my hand. Since, although I cut the border off your cloak, I did not kill you, surely you realise that I intend neither mischief nor crime. I have not wronged you, and yet you hunt me down to take my life.
13 May Yahweh be judge between me and you, and may Yahweh avenge me on you; but I shall never lay a hand on you!
14 (As the old proverb says: Wickedness comes out of wicked people, but I shall never lay a hand on you!)
15 On whose trail is the king of Israel campaigning? Whom are you pursuing? On the trail of a dead dog, of a flea!
16 May Yahweh be the judge and decide between me and you; may he examine and defend my cause and give judgement for me by rescuing me from your clutches!’
17 When David had finished saying this to Saul, Saul said, ‘Is that your voice, my son David?’ And Saul began to weep aloud.
18 ‘You are upright and I am not,’ he said to David, ‘since you have behaved well to me, whereas I have behaved badly to you.
19 And today you have shown how well you have behaved to me, since Yahweh had put me in your power but you did not kill me.
20 When a man comes on his enemy, does he let him go unmolested? May Yahweh reward you for the good you have done me today!(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 57
1 [For the choirmaster Tune: 'Do not destroy' Of David In a quiet voice When he escaped from Saul in the cave] Take pity on me, God, take pity on me, for in you I take refuge, in the shadow of your wings I take refuge, until the destruction is past.
2 I call to God the Most High, to God who has done everything for me;
3 may he send from heaven and save me, and check those who harry me;Pause may God send his faithful love and his constancy.
4 I lie surrounded by lions, greedy for human prey, their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongue a sharp sword.
5 Be exalted above the heavens, God! Your glory over all the earth!
6 They laid a snare in my path — I was bowed with care — they dug a pit ahead of me, but fell in it themselves.Pause
7 My heart is ready, God, my heart is ready; I will sing, and make music for you.
8 Awake, my glory, awake, lyre and harp, that I may awake the Dawn.
9 I will praise you among the peoples, Lord, I will make music for you among nations,
10 for your faithful love towers to heaven, your constancy to the clouds.
11 Be exalted above the heavens, God! Your glory over all the earth!(New Jerusalem Bible)
Mark 3:13–19
13 He now went up onto the mountain and summoned those he wanted. So they came to him
14 and he appointed twelve; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to proclaim the message,
15 with power to drive out devils.
16 And so he appointed the Twelve, Simon to whom he gave the name Peter,
17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges or ‘Sons of Thunder’;
18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot
19 and Judas Iscariot, the man who was to betray him.(New Jerusalem Bible)

Friday, 20 January 2012
Friday of the Second week in Ordinary Time
Saint(s) of the day:St. Sebastian, Martyr (c. 257-c. 288)
Commentary of the day:
Vatican Council II
Constitution on the Church « Lumen gentium», § 26
“He appointed twelve that they might be with him”: the Bishops, successors of the apostles
A bishop marked with the fullness of the sacrament of Orders, is “the steward of the grace of the supreme priesthood,” especially in the Eucharist, which he offers or causes to be offered, and by which the Church continually lives and grows. This Church of Christ is truly present in all legitimate local congregations of the faithful which, united with their pastors, are themselves called churches in the New Testament(Acts 8,1; 14,22). For in their locality these are the new People called by God, in the Holy Spirit and in full assurance (1Th 1,5). In them the faithful are gathered together by the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, and the mystery of the Lord’s Supper is celebrated, that by the food and blood of the Lord’s body the whole brotherhood may be joined together.
In any community of the altar, under the sacred ministry of the bishop, there is exhibited a symbol of that charity and “unity of the mystical Body, without which there can be no salvation.” In these communities, though frequently small and poor, or living in the Diaspora, Christ is present, and in virtue of His presence there is brought together one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. For “the partaking of the body and blood of Christ does nothing other than make us be transformed into that which we consume”…
Bishops thus, by praying and laboring for the people, make outpourings in many ways and in great abundance from the fullness of Christ’s holiness. By the ministry of the word they communicate God’s power to those who believe unto salvation (Rm 1,16) and through the sacraments, the regular and fruitful distribution of which they regulate by their authority, they sanctify the faithful.

1st Thought for Today:
My Utmost for His Highest
Reading for Friday 20th January 2012
ARE YOU FRESH FOR EVERYTHING? by Oswald Chambers)
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.(John 3:3)
Sometimes we are fresh for a prayer meeting but not fresh for cleaning boots!
Being born again of the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, as surprising as God Himself. We do not know where it begins, it is hidden away in the depths of our personal life. Being born again from above is a perennial, perpetual and eternal beginning; a freshness all the time in thinking and in talking and in living, the continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication of something out of joint with God – “I must do this thing or it will never be done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Are we freshly born this minute or are we stale, raking in our minds for something to do? Freshness does not come from obedience but from the Holy Spirit; obedience keeps us in the light as God is in the light.
Guard jealously your relationship to God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one, even as we are one” – nothing between. Keep all the life perennially open to Jesus Christ, don’t pretend with Him. Are you drawing your life from any other source than God Himself? If you are depending upon anything but Him, you will never know when He is gone.
Being born of the Spirit means much more than we generally take it to mean. It gives us a new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything by the perennial supply of the life of God.

Reflecting God-He Who Has Been With Us, Will Be With Us
Friday, January 20, 2012
Scripture-Psalm 48
1 [Song Psalm Of the sons of Korah] Great is Yahweh and most worthy of praise in the city of our God, the holy mountain,
2 towering in beauty, the joy of the whole world: Mount Zion in the heart of the north, the settlement of the great king;
3 God himself among its palaces has proved himself its bulwark.
4 For look, kings made alliance, together they advanced;
5 without a second glance, when they saw, they panicked and fled away.
6 Trembling seized them on the spot, pains like those of a woman in labour;
7 it was the east wind, that wrecker of ships from Tarshish.
8 What we had heard we saw for ourselves in the city of our God, in the city of Yahweh Sabaoth, which God has established for ever.Pause
9 We reflect on your faithful love, God, in your temple!
10 Both your name and your praise, God, are over the whole wide world. Your right hand is full of saving justice,
11 Mount Zion rejoices, the daughters of Judah delight because of your saving justice.
12 Go round Zion, walk right through her, count her bastions,
13 admire her walls, examine her palaces, to tell future generations
14 that such is God; our God for ever and ever, he is our guide!(New Jerusalem Bible)
He Who Has Been With Us, Will Be With Us by Lenny Wisehart
The “city of our God” (verse 1) refers to Zion, site of the Jerusalem temple mount. The implication is that Zion is where Yahweh, the true God, dwells. This psalm was written to commemorate, for God’s people, a victory over a powerful enemy. In the past they had heard from their fathers of God’s mighty hand bringing deliverance and victory. Now they had faced a battle of their own. They had become witnesses firsthand to what they had previously only heard about. They testify, “As we have heard, so we have seen” Verse 8). No wonder they say verse 14, “For this God is our God forever ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.”
As we reflect on God’s dealings with us, we can be assured that nothing in the past has so passed that it is not present with us. He who has delivered in the past is more than able to deliver again.
What has God delivered you from? What past victory can you celebrate? Never allow the challenges of today cloud your memory of his hand in days gone by. That same God is with you now.
Hymn for Today:
“He Never Has Failed Me Yet” by W. J. Henry
1. When I travel the pathway so rugged and steep,
When I pass through the valley so dark and so deep,
And when snares for my soul by my foes have been set,
Jesus never has failed me yet.
Refrain
He never has failed me yet.
He never has failed me yet.
I have proven Him true; What He says He will do.
He never has failed me yet.
2nd Thought for Today:
“No short affliction can falsify the eternal faithfulness of God”(Neil B. Wiseman).
Prayer Needs:
Developing Christian leaders in Norway.

The Upper Room Daily Devotional
Friday, January 20, 2012
Blue Skies?
Suggested Bible Reading:
Read Habakkuk 3:17-19
17 (For the fig tree is not to blossom, nor will the vines bear fruit, the olive crop will disappoint and the fields will yield no food; the sheep will vanish from the fold; no cattle in the stalls.)
18 But I shall rejoice in Yahweh, I shall exult in God my Saviour.
19 Yahweh my Lord is my strength, he will make my feet as light as a doe’s, and set my steps on the heights. For the choirmaster; on stringed instruments.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Today’s Scripture:
Though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord.(Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NIV))
Today’s Devotional
Recently I was driving home into a storm front. But rather than an increasingly overcast sky, I saw a line of dark clouds where the front began. It was as if God had scribbled a line across the sky to mark the beginning of the rain. As I drove toward the front, I could see blue sky stretching above the cloud line. For me this was a reminder that the blue sky wasn’t turning gray; it was just hidden from sight by the clouds.
Similarly, circumstances sometimes cloud my view of God. I see a relationship in turmoil, a series of unexpected expenses, a child’s rebellion. Habakkuk reminds me that behind these gray clouds is a God who is “my Savior” and “my strength” — one who can empower me to withstand hardship and assure me that all will be well in the end. All clouds dissipate eventually, revealing the blue sky that is always there beyond what we can see. by Philip M. Huber (New York, USA)
3rd Thought for the Day: Circumstances change moment by moment, but God’s faithfulness never changes.
Prayer: Source of strength, help us today to look beyond our circumstances to your faithful character. We pray in trust, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”* Amen. *Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV).
Prayer Focus: Perseverance during hardship
The scripture quotation, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2012 by The Upper Room, a ministry of GBOD. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or redistribute without written permission from the publisher.

Daily Meditation: Living on our One Earth — January 20, 2012
Center for Action and Contemplation
LIVING ON OUR ONE EARTH
When did the incarnation begin? It began with the “Big Bang,” 14.5 billion years ago, and you’re the first generation that’s ever known an approximate date for the materialization of the mystery. Our particular “earth” came along around 4-5 billion years ago—much later, it seems. What was God doing 5 billion years ago? What was God doing 10 billion years ago? Was God really waiting for the Pope to appear? Was God waiting for the King James Version of the Bible? All of which happened only in the last nanosecond of geological time. God sure is impractical and terribly inefficient if His or Her goals are the same as ours. Who is this God?
As humans we do have the advantage of what we call “consciousness,” but that doesn’t mean that other things do not also share in some rudimentary form of that consciousness. Maybe it’s a quantitative difference, but not a qualitative difference. Paul often calls us the “first fruits” of salvation or redemption, but that does not mean we are the only fruits. The little sheep and the big dog certainly have some degree of consciousness, too; in fact they sometimes put us to shame, and reveal the union of matter and spirit much better than we do, as does all of nature. Adapted from Soul Centering Through Nature: Becoming a True Human Adult (webcast) (CD/DVD/MP3)
Starter Prayer:
I am part of the whole.

4th Thought for Today:
Friday January 20, 2012
Yearning for Perfect Love
When we act out of loneliness our actions easily become violent. The tragedy is that much violence comes from a demand for love. When loneliness drives our search for love, kissing easily leads to biting, caressing to hitting, looking tenderly to looking suspiciously, listening to overhearing, and surrender to rape. The human heart yearns for love: love without conditions, limitations, or restrictions. But no human being is capable of offering such love, and each time we demand it we set ourselves on the road to violence.
How then can we live nonviolent lives? We must start by realizing that our restless hearts, yearning for perfect love, can only find that love through communion with the One who created them. by Father Henri J. M. Nouwen

1.20.12 – Getting your focus right from The Church of the Resurrection-United Methodist in Leawood, Kansas, United States
Daily Scripture: Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, let your minds be filled with everything that is true, everything that is honourable, everything that is upright and pure, everything that we love and admire — with whatever is good and praiseworthy.
9 Keep doing everything you learnt from me and were told by me and have heard or seen me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”(New Jerusalem Bible)
Reflection Questions:
Read abstractly, this passage can sound syrupy and naive. But it’s important to remember that the apostle Paul wrote these words, not sitting quietly in an idyllic meadow retreat, but in a dank Roman prison cell (see Philippians 1:12-14). His words have been found true over and over: what we train ourselves to focus on can make all the difference in our relationships.
The Translator’s Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Philippians says “focus your thoughts” “means more than ‘keep in mind’ or ‘think about’….These good qualities are not merely …good for the head, but…need to be transformed into action.” How can you (with help if needed) train yourself to focus more fully on what is good in those you love most?
Think about the various forces that shape your thinking. Notice how many of the TV or radio shows, news portals, political debates or gossip columns you follow focus on “all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise.” What does it take for us to learn to focus our thinking in that way?
Weekly Prayer:
Lord God, you are love, and you created us for loving relationships with you and with each other. But we have varying backgrounds, personalities and abilities. Help my heart as well as my mind to learn that you love me just as I am, and that you love me too much to leave me as I am. As I commit myself to you each day, increase my capacity first to receive your love, and then to love my spouse, children, friends and even strangers who so need your love. Amen.
Friday 1.20.12 Insight from Darren Lippe
Darren Lippe helps facilitate Journey 101 “Loving God” classes, guides a 3rd grade Sunday school class, is a member of a small group & a men’s group, and serves on the Curriculum team.
“So, whatcha thinking?”
Ah, a question that can make many a man quake in fear. When we were first married, Doris asked this deceptively innocent question during a long car trip to visit family in McPherson.
An accurate response would probably range from why can’t the Royals get a good reliever to when did we last change the oil in the car to questioning the wisdom of the dietary selection of the “Humonga Chimichanga” just before a lengthy drive.
Realizing that none of these responses would garner much applause & perhaps even cause some dissension, I instead responded with the seemingly safe reply, “Um, trucks.”
Apparently that answer wasn’t as secure as I thought, as the lengthy journey became even more prolonged. Interestingly, Paul addresses this question in today’s passage: What are we thinking about & more importantly what should we be thinking about?
In today’s society this question is not a trifling issue. We are inundated with information, images & ideas. With technological advancements, this information-overload promises to only increase in speed & volume over time.
Further, studies are beginning to show that we can never completely purge all of this data from our minds. Each scrap of information we consume remains in our mental filing cabinet forever, be it the 180th article criticizing the BCS, the late breaking news bulletin about the Kardashians, or the recent facebook posting from Uncle Harvey vividly describing his preparation for his colonoscopy.
So perhaps Paul’s advice to focus on things that are true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, & gracious isn’t so crazy. But how are we to accomplish this ideal?
First, while a small boy after a bad dream will vehemently disagree, we do have some freedom to choose what we are thinking. We can opt to run a repeat of that monster-filled dream or we can try to direct our minds to recall going through the cheerful Toy Story ride at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios.
Secondly, we can be more discerning of what we read & view & hear. We all concur that the adage “Garbage In / Garbage Out’ applies to spreadsheets & diets, yet somehow we are tempted to think that it doesn’t apply to our minds. Maybe we could review our intellectual diet to make sure we are ingesting good ideas & good information.
Finally, we can ignore the messages that various media outlets want to inject into our minds via billions of dollars worth of advertising and instead strive to let our thoughts be directed by Scripture. Perhaps we could read a chapter from Proverbs each day for the next 31 days & heed God’s advice to self improvement, thereby replacing the infomercials promising a “new you” in 2012.
Will this make a difference? Applying Paul’s advice, let’s re-run our conversation from the opening. We’ll let you imagine how the dialogue might conclude & let you judge if you think the resulting discussion would be an improvement.
So, whatcha thinking?
Oh, I was considering the proverb, “A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown.” I wonder what that might mean. What do you think?…
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

5th Thought for Today:
Friday 20 January 2012
Linked through our Wounds
I see my wounds in the wounded person with a handicap. That is also my fragility. Often we are in a covenant because of our wounds. We are linked through them and there is a real fraternity between us because we are no longer on a pedestal. by Jean Vanier

Sermon for Today:
The Locust-Eaten Past (A New Year’s Message) by Alexander Whyte (1836-1921)
“That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that
which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the
cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.”Joel 1:4)
” I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.”(Joel 2:25)
Dr. Pusey, the most literal, orthodox, and conservative of commentators, admits, in his great work on the Minor Prophets, that the prophet Joel opens his book with an enigma. The locust and the palmerworm and the caterpillar and the cankerworm, he is compelled to admit, are clearly some sort of sacred enigma. That extraordinarily learned and extraordinarily painstaking interpreter absolutely ransacks all the books of natural history and of Eastern travel determined to find Joel’s literal locusts in some of those books. But without success. For, terrible as are the tales that travelers tell about the locust, harrowing as are the accounts they give of the doomed lands on which the locust descends, after all that, there are some things in Joel still more terrible and still more harrowing. In his determination to find actual locusts, and nothing but actual locusts on the inspired page, the aged and saintly scholar toils on till, at last, he is compelled to lay down his books both of science and of travel, and to confess that he is beaten. ” No,” he says, ” it is clear to me now that they are not literal locusts. Whatever they are they are not literal locusts. There is something here, I see now, far worse than any locust.
There is some dark riddle of human misery here that neither our learned naturalists nor our Eastern travelers know everything about. But I think I know now,” says the ripe old saint. ” Joel’s locusts, I see now and am sure, are not so far away as Arabia or Palestine. For all Joel’s locusts, in all their kinds and in all their devastations, are in my own heart. Why did I go beating about among bound and barren books when this prophet, all the time, was but describing the sinfulness of my own heart?” Dr. Pusey went far wrong and he led his Church far wrong on some most essential matters, but he never went far wrong in his doctrines of sin and of holiness. And he was wholly right, as wholly right as the Holy Ghost and a holy life could make him, in his final and full explanation of this prophet’s terrible locusts. “Let my readers take my word for it,” he said. All this power and passion and repentance and remorse comes from a far deeper source than any plague of locusts. No! This is no locust. This is no deadly insect with shining wings. There is only one thing on the face of the whole earth that this can be. This is Sin!
The first thing that aroused the great scholar’s suspicion that the prophet was setting a deep riddle to his readers was this terrible passage: “Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.” In all his immense apparatus of authors the old Hebrew Professor could find no breed of locust that ever came up, scourge after scourge, on any land, in that fashion. As far as he could read or hear, one descent of locusts is enough to make any land a desert. No. It clearly cannot be literal locusts. It is some deep riddle of desolation that the sorrowful prophet sets to us under the name of locusts.
And no sooner had the saintly scholar tried the key of sin than the prophet’s sacred lock flew open; and his deep riddle was as clear as day. Try that key yourselves, my brethren. You have a great scholar’s word for it that that key fits, to perfection, the most inward and intricate parts of Joel’s inward and intricate prophecy. Well, try that same key upon yourselves. Try it on your own desolate life. Try it on desolation after desolation of your utterly desolate hfe. Try it year after year. Take sin after sin, sin after sin, and see if sin is not the true key of your desolate life.
The old men are challenged by this bold prophet to testify to the truth of what he says, to give their children and their children’s children the benefit of their desolate and accumulated experience. Will you who are old men and wise do it ? You are not great pulpit expositors like Gregory, nor great scholars like Pusey; but, by this time, you must be as wise and well-experienced as any ancient or modern of them all in the things that turn the garden of youth into the wilderness of old age. If you have learned anything to be called learning, you must have surely learned this, how one sin succeeds another till you are what you are today. You could name to your children, as Joel challenged the old men of his day to name to their children; you could name your locust-sins in their genealogical order, in their successive descents, and in their complete desolation. Name them then, first to yourselves and then to your children; and it will be your salvation and theirs.
But all this time, locusts, let us be thankful, do not descend on our land like that. Our cold, hard, dark, uncongenial climate has its compensations. If our fields are not so full of milk and honey, and wine and oil, as the Land of Judah is, neither have we those terrible scourges that the prophet here handles with such terrible power. It is only the richest and sunniest lands that breed locusts; and it is not your dark, cold, hard, uncongenial hearts that suffer from an inward sinfulness that makes life to some men such a wilderness. Some men will not understand this, and will not have it. But there are other men to whom this will read as the most literal, and so to say, scientific truth, this out of this prophet’s so marvellously constructed riddle. The land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness: yea, and nothing shall escape them. Before their face the people shall be much pained and all faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall ; they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. And, because of them, is not our meat cut off before our eyes ? Yea, is not joy and gladness cut off from the house of our God ? The seed is rotten under the clod because of them. The garner is desolate. And the barns are broken down.” Oh ! it is so true! So true, and so masterly! It is so true and so masterly that for the moment we forget our anguish in our sheer intellectual delight in it. That is prophecy! That is preaching! And there is a certain noble if bitter pleasure in seeing ourselves and our great enemy so divinely discovered, understood, and described. With such truth and power and passion and splendid eloquence is the multitudinousness, and the veracity, and the prolificness, and the ineradicableness of our sinfulness set forth in this prophet’s tremendous pages.
But the word of the Lord came again to Joel the son of Pethuel. ” Therefore, thus saith the Lord, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord. For He is gracious and merciful, and repenteth Him of the evil.” ” Rend your heart!” prophesied the son of Pethuel with all his power. “And so we shall” replied the old men of his day. “So we shall: and so we have already done!” said many of the inhabitants of the locust- cursed land. “If a ‘rent heart ‘ is to be the arrest of God’s judgments, and the return of His mercies, then let Him look and see if our hearts are not truly rent,” witnessed the worshippers in Zion. ” Let Him search us and try us,” they said,” if our hearts are not enough rent. “Rend our hearts, O Lord!” They proclaimed a fast and prayed. And so you do also, who are old men and wise men, and elders in Zion. ” If we know ourselves,” you say, ” our hearts are indeed rent before God. We have nothing to offer to God or man out of the fields of our past lives, but a rent heart. That is the only redress or reparation and recompense we can offer to God or man. Blessed be God that a rent heart is His best harvest!” you exclaim.
“Who knoweth?” wonders the prophet, “who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him?” And that both His prophet and His people might know, and might not be left in any doubt, the word of the Lord came again: “Fear not: but be glad and rejoice; for the Lord will do great things. I will do even this great thing, saith the Lord. I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.” Now, all parable apart, and in all plainness of speech, can any one tell us in what way the God of Israel, and our own God, does that ? Set the locusts aside for a little, and tell us in plain words that we can understand and remember, just how our past years can be recovered and restored : or, if that is impossible, then just what God can do and will do for us, if our heart is rent and laid at His feet.
Well, for one thing: Joel and his old men had reaped the fruit of a “rent heart.” A harvest that we have reaped also, have we not, my brethren? Our hearts, like Joel’s, have a rent in them so deep, so wide, so ragged, that nothing in this world, not all the milk and wine and honey of this world, will ever heal it. We have brought a heart out of our past years that no future years on earth can ever again make what it once was. We would not have it again what it once was, even if we could. For our heart is now rent loose from earth at its best, and gone on beforehand to heaven. It will not be healed and made whole and satisfied short of “His likeness.” What fruit? Well, a “rent heart” to begin with: and with a “rent heart,” a humbled heart, a heart full of humility, and self- abasement, and self-abhorrence, and self-abandonment. And a mind to dwell beside such a heart, and to minister to it. Even a spiritual and a heavenly mind. A mind and a heart for spiritual things: that is to say, for the things of God in nature, and in His word, and in Jesus Christ, and in grace, and in glory. A heart and a mind for the Cross of Christ, and for the throne of grace, and for the hopes and the foretastes of everlasting life. But Paul answers his own questions best. For these are his own noble words, that ” godly sorrow for the past worketh repentance for the future not to be repented of. For, behold, this selfsame thing, what carefulness it wrought in you ! Yea, what clearing of yourselves. Yea, what indignation; yea, what fear; yea, what vehement desire. Yea, what zeal ; yea, what revenge.” Or, take it in Andrewes’s fine paraphrase: ” Turn, O Lord, my mourning into dancing: my dreaming into earnestness: my many falls into so many clearings of myself : my guilt into indignation: my sin into fear: my transgression into vehement desire: my unrighteousness into zeal: and my pollution into revenge.” Or, again, let Fenelon reply to Paul. “I downright rejoice in your desolation,” he writes to a noble lady correspondent. ” For God will teach you how to kill self out of your heart through disgust at this world, and through the desolation of your own life. As to grave faults of your past life they will turn to your certain good in the future if you make use of them for your humiliation. The true way to profit out of an evil past is to face it in all its hideousness, hoping for nothing better from ourselves in the time to come: while, at the same time, we do not cease to hope in God. And when He has stripped us bare of all strength and hope and self-resource, He will then begin to graft us on upon His Son Jesus Christ.” That, in the plainest possible words, is some of the fruit we have ever with us, out of those years of which we are now ashamed. Those are some of the ways in which God restores to His people the years that the cankerworm hath eaten.
It has been the want of faith, my brethren, that has been at the root of all the blight and barrenness of our past years. And if God is to make His promise in the text good to you and me for this New Year, and for all our own future years, it will be by strengthening and fertilising our faith! When the root is weak or diseased, or when it has no deepness of earth, then any passing locust will soon kill the tree. But when the root is sound and strong and deep-seated and well-watered, the tree will blossom and bear fruit and will survive all the locusts that you can send up against it. Let us have faith, then, my brethren. Let us have, and in all things let us exercise, faith in God. Let us believe that He is, as we have never up to this year believed. Let us believe His Word. Let us read and meditate on His Word in a way we have never yet done. Our spiritual life and its fruitfulness comes and goes just as we read God’s Word, and meditate on it in secret. Let us read, then, and meditate, read and pray, till His word dwells in us richly. And then, faith and all its fruits will grow in us, as they have always grown in those who had the true root within them, and who watered it with the water of life that flows in the channels of God’s Word. And then, with the life of faith growing in that way in us, what new creatures we shall soon become! What new eyes will begin to open in our hearts! And what a new world on earth and in heaven our new eyes will begin to see!
And what years, even on earth, we shall yet have, as faith puts forth in us her perfect fruit! Believe! Believe ! Have faith! Have faith!, our Lord went about continually pleading with men. And when He found faith in Jew or Gentile how proud He was of it! What liberty and boldness He allowed it! And what rewards He put upon it!
And with a faith like that for the root of our future hfe, a holy love will henceforth be the sap, and the strength, and the fatness of our redeemed and remaining years. O, if God would but shed abroad His love in our hearts, we should soon forget all the famine and desolation of our past years! And He will! He says that He will, and we believe Him, Do we not, do you not, in these days feel something begun and going on within you as if a new beginning of faith and love was come to you? Do you not feel something, not unlike the breath of a spiritual spring, beginning to blow over your long desolation? I do. Do you not? O, let us all set open our hearts to the Spirit of God, and the buds will soon begin to burst and the birds will soon begin to build and to sing. Open your hearts to God, my brethren! Do not be afraid of God. Do not turn away from God. Where are you going? To whom can you go if you go away from. God? God is love. If God is anything, He is love. God is also light in darkness, and warmth in winter, and companionship and communion in desertion and loneliness, and goodness, and truth, and beauty, and sweetness, and more than mortal tongue can tell. It is well worth being the chief of sinners to have such a Saviour. It is well worth having all our years within us eaten up of locusts to have a message sent us like this message that God has sent us all this morning. And this message, as the Lord liveth, is no lie, but is the simple truth. It is no dream. It is no delusion. It is the surest, solidest, most matter-of-fact, most verifiable, most experimental, most immediate, most urgent, and most everlasting of all truths. Heaven and earth shall pass away. You will be present and will see and feel them passing away, but this message of this morning shall not pass till it is all fulfilled.
Rend your hearts, and who knoweth what He will do? Turn to the Lord and see. Gather up your lost life, and lay it down at His feet, and see. Say to Him that you have destroyed yourself, and see. Say to Him that all your hope is in His Word, and see. And then, tell ye your children what He hath done for your soul, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation.
Be ye glad, then, ye children of Zion; and rejoice in the Lord your God. For I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, and the cankerworm, and the caterpillar and the palmerworm. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God that hath dealt so wondrously with you. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of my people Israel: and My people shall never be ashamed.

Hymn for Today:
“If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee” by Georg Neumark, 1621-1681; translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1827-1878
1. If thou but suffer God to guide thee,
and hope in God through all thy ways,
God will give strength, whate’er betide thee,
and bear thee through the evil days.
Who trusts in God’s unchanging love
builds on the rock that naught can move.
2. Only be still, and wait God’s leisure
in cheerful hope, with heart content
to take whate’er thy Maker’s pleasure
and all-discerning love hath sent;
we know our inmost wants are known,
for we are called to be God’s own.
3. Sing, pray, and keep God’s ways unswerving;
so do thine own part faithfully,
and trust God’s word; though undeserving,
thou yet shalt find it true for thee.
God never yet forsook at need
the soul that trusted God indeed.

Through the Bible in One Year:
Deuteronomy 21 to 30
1 ‘If, in the country which Yahweh your God gives you as your possession, a victim of murder is found lying in the open country and it is not known who has killed that person,
2 your elders and scribes must measure the distance between the victim and the surrounding towns,
3 and establish which town is the nearest to the victim. The elders of that town must then take a heifer that has not yet been put to work or used as a draught animal under the yoke.
4 The elders of that town must bring the heifer down to a permanently flowing river, to a spot that has been neither ploughed nor sown, and there by the river they must break the heifer’s neck.
5 The priests, the sons of Levi, will then step forward, these being the men whom Yahweh your God has chosen to serve him and to bless in Yahweh’s name, and it being their business to settle all cases of dispute or of violence.
6 All the elders of the town nearest to the victim of murder must then wash their hands in the stream, over the slaughtered heifer.
7 They must pronounce these words, “Our hands have not shed this blood and our eyes have seen nothing.
8 O Yahweh, forgive your people Israel whom you have redeemed, and let no innocent blood be shed among your people Israel. May this bloodshed be forgiven them!”
9 You must banish all shedding of innocent blood from among you, if you mean to do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh.
10 ‘When you go to war against your enemies and Yahweh your God delivers them into your power and you take prisoners,
11 and among the prisoners you see a beautiful woman, and you fall in love with her, and you take her to be your wife
12 and bring her home; she must shave her head and cut her nails,
13 and take off her prisoner’s garb; she must stay inside your house and mourn her father and mother for a full month. You may then go to her and be a husband to her, and she will be your wife.
14 Should she cease to please you, you will let her go where she wishes, not selling her for money: you must not make any profit out of her, since you have exploited her.
15 ‘If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and the loved one and the unloved both bear him children, and if the first-born son is of the unloved wife,
16 when the man comes to bequeath his goods to his sons, he may not treat the son of the wife whom he loves as the first-born, at the expense of the son of the wife whom he does not love, the true first-born.
17 As his first-born he must acknowledge the son of the wife whom he does not love, giving him a double share of his estate; this son being the first-fruit of his vigour, the right of the first-born is his.
18 ‘If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not listen to the voice either of his father or of his mother and, even when they punish him, still will not pay attention to them,
19 his father and mother must take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the gate of that place.
20 To the elders of his town, they will say, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and will not listen to us; he is a wastrel and a drunkard.”
21 All his fellow-citizens must then stone him to death. You must banish this evil from among you. All Israel, hearing of this, will be afraid.
22 ‘If a man guilty of a capital offence is to be put to death, and you hang him from a tree,
23 his body must not remain on the tree overnight; you must bury him the same day, since anyone hanged is a curse of God, and you must not bring pollution on the soil which Yahweh your God is giving you as your heritage.’
1 ‘If you see your brother’s ox or one of his sheep straying, you must not disregard it: you must take it back to your brother.
2 And if he is not close at hand or you do not know who he is, you must take it home with you and keep it by you until your brother comes to look for it; you will then return it to him.
3 ‘You must do the same with his donkey, the same with his cloak, the same with anything that your brother loses and that you find; you must not disregard it.
4 ‘If you see your brother’s donkey or ox fall over on the road, you must not disregard it, but must help your brother get it on its feet again.
5 ‘A woman must not dress like a man, nor a man like a woman; anyone who does this is detestable to Yahweh your God.
6 ‘If, when out walking, you come across a bird’s nest, in a tree or on the ground, with chicks or eggs and the mother bird sitting on the chicks or the eggs, you must not take the mother as well as the chicks.
7 Let the mother go; the young you may take for yourself. Thus will you have prosperity and long life.
8 ‘When you build a new house, you must give your roof a parapet; then your house will not incur blood-vengeance, should anyone fall off the top.
9 ‘You must not sow any other crop in your vineyard, or the whole yield may become forfeit, both the crop you have sown and the yield of your vines.
10 ‘You must not plough with ox and donkey together.
11 ‘You must not wear clothing woven part of wool, part of linen.
12 ‘You must make tassels for the four corners of the cloak in which you wrap yourself.
13 ‘If a man marries a woman, has sexual intercourse with her and then, turning against her,
14 taxes her with misconduct and publicly defames her by saying, “I married this woman and when I had sexual intercourse with her I did not find evidence of her virginity,”
15 the girl’s father and mother must take the evidence of her virginity and produce it before the elders of the town, at the gate.
16 To the elders, the girl’s father will say, “I gave this man my daughter for a wife and he has turned against her,
17 and now he taxes her with misconduct, saying, I have found no evidence of virginity in your daughter. Here is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity!”
18 They must then display the cloth to the elders of the town.
19 The elders of the town in question will have the man arrested and flogged, and fine him a hundred silver shekels for publicly defaming a virgin of Israel, and give this money to the girl’s father. She will remain his wife; as long as he lives, he may not divorce her.
20 ‘But if the accusation that the girl cannot show evidence of virginity is substantiated,
21 she must be taken out, and at the door of her father’s house her fellow-citizens must stone her to death for having committed an infamy in Israel by bringing disgrace on her father’s family. You must banish this evil from among you.
22 ‘If a man is caught having sexual intercourse with another man’s wife, both must be put to death: the man who has slept with her and the woman herself. You must banish this evil from Israel.
23 ‘If a virgin is engaged to a man, and another man encounters her in the town and has sexual intercourse with her,
24 you will take them both to the gate of the town in question and stone them to death: the girl, for not having called for help in the town; the man, for having exploited his fellow-citizen’s wife. You must banish this evil from among you.
25 But if the man ran into the betrothed girl in the open country and slept with her, having taken her by force, her ravisher alone must die;
26 you must do nothing to the girl, she has not committed a capital offence. The case is like that of a man who attacks and kills his fellow:
27 since he came across her in the open country, the betrothed girl may have called out, without anyone’s coming to her rescue.
28 ‘If a man meets a young virgin who is not betrothed and seizes her, sleeps with her and is caught in the act,
29 her ravisher must give the girl’s father fifty silver shekels; since he has exploited her, she must be his wife and, as long as he lives, he may not divorce her.’
1 ‘A man must not take his father’s wife; he must not withdraw the skirt of his father’s cloak from her.
2 ‘A man whose testicles have been crushed or whose male member has been cut off must not be admitted to the assembly of Yahweh.
3 No half-breed may be admitted to the assembly of Yahweh; not even his descendants to the tenth generation may be admitted to the assembly of Yahweh.
4 No Ammonite or Moabite may be admitted to the assembly of Yahweh; not even his descendants to the tenth generation may be admitted to the assembly of Yahweh, and this is for all time;
5 since they did not come to meet you with food and drink when you were on your way out of Egypt, and even hired Balaam son of Beor to oppose you by cursing you, from Pethor in Aram Naharaim.
6 But Yahweh your God refused to listen to Balaam, and Yahweh your God turned the curse on you into a blessing, because Yahweh your God loved you.
7 Never, as long as you live, must you seek their welfare or their prosperity.
8 ‘You must not regard the Edomite as detestable, for he is your brother; you must not regard the Egyptian as detestable, since you were once a foreigner in his country.
9 The third generation of children born to these may be admitted to the assembly of Yahweh.
10 ‘When you are in camp, at war with your enemies, you must avoid anything bad.
11 If any one of you is unclean by reason of a nocturnal emission, he must leave and not come back into camp,
12 but towards evening wash himself, and return to camp at sunset.
13 ‘You must have a latrine outside the camp, and go out to this;
14 you must have a trowel in your equipment and, when you squat outside, you must scrape a hole with it, then turn round and cover up your excrement.
15 For Yahweh your God goes about the inside of your camp to guard you and put your enemies at your mercy. Your camp must therefore be a holy place; Yahweh must not see anything indecent there or he will desert you.
16 ‘You must not allow a master to imprison a slave who has escaped from him and come to you.
17 Let him make his home with you and yours, wherever he pleases in whichever of your towns he prefers; you must not molest him.
18 ‘There must be no sacred prostitute among the women of Israel, and no sacred prostitute among the men of Israel.
19 You must not bring the wages of a prostitute or the earnings of a ‘dog’ to the house of Yahweh your God, whatever vow you may have made: both are detestable to Yahweh your God.
20 ‘You must not lend on interest to your brother, whether the loan be of money, of food, or of anything else that may earn interest.
21 You may demand interest on a loan to a foreigner, but you must not demand interest from your brother; so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all your labours, in the country which you are about to enter and make your own.
22 ‘If you make a vow to Yahweh your God, you must not be slack about fulfilling it: Yahweh your God will certainly hold you answerable for it and you will incur guilt.
23 If, however, you make no vow, you do not incur guilt.
24 Whatever passes your lips you must keep to, and the vow that you have made to Yahweh, your generous God, you must fulfil.
25 ‘If you go into your neighbour’s vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you please, but you must not put any in your basket.
26 If you go into your neighbour’s standing corn, you may pick ears by hand, but you must not put a sickle into your neighbour’s corn.’
1 ‘Suppose a man has taken a wife and consummated the marriage; but she has not pleased him and he has found some impropriety of which to accuse her; he has therefore made out a writ of divorce for her and handed it to her and then dismissed her from his house;
2 she leaves his home and goes away to become the wife of another man.
3 Then suppose this second man who has married her takes a dislike to her and makes out a writ of divorce for her and hands it to her and dismisses her from his house or if this other man who took her as his wife dies,
4 her first husband, who has repudiated her, may not take her back as his wife now that she has been made unclean in this way. For that is detestable in Yahweh’s eyes and you must not bring guilt on the country which Yahweh your God is giving you as your heritage.
5 ‘If a man is newly married, he must not join the army, nor must he be pestered at home; he must be left at home, free of all obligations for one year, to make his new wife happy.
6 ‘No one may take a mill or a millstone in pledge; that would be to take life itself in pledge.
7 ‘If anyone is caught, having kidnapped one of his brother-Israelites, whether he makes him his slave or sells him, that thief must die. You must banish this evil from among you.
8 ‘In a case of a virulent skin-disease, take care you faithfully observe and exactly carry out everything that the levitical priests direct you to do. You must keep and observe everything that I have commanded them.
9 Remember what Yahweh your God did to Miriam when you were on your way out of Egypt.
10 ‘If you are making your brother a loan on pledge, you must not go into his house and seize the pledge, whatever it may be.
11 You must stay outside, and the man to whom you are making the loan must bring the pledge out to you.
12 And if the man is poor, you must not go to bed with his pledge in your possession;
13 you must return it to him at sunset so that he can sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it will be an upright action on your part in God’s view.
14 ‘You must not exploit a poor and needy wage-earner, be he one of your brothers or a foreigner resident in your community.
15 You must pay him his wages each day, not allowing the sun to set before you do, since he, being poor, needs them badly; otherwise he may appeal to Yahweh against you, and you would incur guilt.
16 ‘Parents may not be put to death for their children, nor children for parents, but each must be put to death for his own crime.
17 ‘You must not infringe the rights of the foreigner or the orphan; you must not take a widow’s clothes in pledge.
18 Remember that you were once a slave in Egypt and that Yahweh your God redeemed you from that. That is why I am giving you this order.
19 ‘If, when reaping the harvest in your field, you overlook a sheaf in that field, do not go back for it. The foreigner, the orphan and the widow shall have it, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all your undertakings.
20 ‘When you beat your olive tree, you must not go over the branches twice. The foreigner, the orphan and the widow shall have the rest.
21 ‘When you harvest your vineyard, you must not pick it over a second time. The foreigner, the orphan and the widow shall have the rest.
22 ‘Remember that you were once a slave in Egypt. That is why I am giving you this order.’
1 ‘If people fall out, they must go to court for judgement; the judges must declare the one who is right to be in the right, the one who is wrong to be in the wrong.
2 If the one who is in the wrong deserves a flogging, the judge must have him laid on the ground and flogged in his presence, the number of strokes proportionate to his offence.
3 He may impose forty strokes but no more; otherwise, by the infliction of more, serious injury may be caused and your brother be humiliated before you.
4 ‘You must not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the corn.
5 ‘If brothers live together and one of them dies childless, the dead man’s wife may not marry a stranger outside the family. Her husband’s brother must come to her and, exercising his duty as brother, make her his wife,
6 and the first son she bears must assume the dead brother’s name; by this means his name will not be obliterated from Israel.
7 But if the man declines to take his brother’s wife, she must go to the elders at the gate and say, “I have no brother-in-law willing to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he declines to exercise his duty as brother in my favour.”
8 The elders of the town must summon the man and talk to him. If, on appearing before them, he says, “I refuse to take her,”
9 then the woman to whom he owes duty as brother must go up to him in the presence of the elders, take the sandal off his foot, spit in his face, and pronounce the following words, “This is what is done to the man who refuses to restore his brother’s house,”
10 and his family must henceforth be known in Israel as House of the Unshod.
11 ‘If, when two men are fighting, the wife of one intervenes to protect her husband from the other’s blows by reaching out and seizing the other by his private parts,
12 you must cut off her hand and show no pity.
13 ‘You must not keep two different weights in your bag, one heavy, one light.
14 You must not keep two different measures in your house, one large, one small.
15 You must keep one weight, full and accurate, so that you may have long life in the country given you by Yahweh your God.
16 For anyone who does things of this kind and acts dishonestly is detestable to Yahweh your God.
17 ‘Remember how Amalek treated you when you were on your way out of Egypt.
18 He met you on your way and, after you had gone by, he fell on you from the rear and cut off the stragglers; when you were faint and weary, he had no fear of God.
19 When Yahweh your God has granted you peace from all the enemies surrounding you, in the country given you by Yahweh your God to own as your heritage, you must blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven. Do not forget.’
1 ‘When you have entered the country which Yahweh your God is giving you as heritage, when you have taken possession of it and are living in it,
2 you must set aside the first-fruits of all the produce of the soil raised by you in your country, given you by Yahweh your God. You must put these in a basket and go to the place where Yahweh your God chooses to give his name a home.
3 You will go to the priest then in office and say to him, “Today I declare to Yahweh my God that I have reached the country which Yahweh swore to our ancestors that he would give us.”
4 ‘The priest will then take the basket from your hand and lay it before the altar of Yahweh your God.
5 In the presence of Yahweh your God, you will then pronounce these words: “My father was a wandering Aramaean, who went down to Egypt with a small group of men, and stayed there, until he there became a great, powerful and numerous nation.
6 The Egyptians ill-treated us, they oppressed us and inflicted harsh slavery on us.
7 But we called on Yahweh, God of our ancestors. Yahweh heard our voice and saw our misery, our toil and our oppression;
8 and Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with mighty hand and outstretched arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders.
9 He brought us here and has given us this country, a country flowing with milk and honey.
10 Hence, I now bring the first-fruits of the soil that you, Yahweh, have given me.” ‘You will then lay them before Yahweh your God, and prostrate yourself in the presence of Yahweh your God.
11 You must then rejoice in all the good things that Yahweh your God has bestowed on you and your family-you, the Levite and the foreigner living with you.
12 ‘In the third year, the tithing year, when you have finished taking the tithe of your whole income and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow so that, in your towns, they may eat to their heart’s content,
13 in the presence of Yahweh your God, you must say: “I have cleared my house of what was consecrated. Yes, I have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow, in accordance with all the commandments you have imposed on me, neither going beyond your commandments nor neglecting them.
14 When in mourning, I have not eaten any of it; when unclean, I have taken none of it away; I have given none of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of Yahweh my God and I have behaved in every way as you have commanded me.
15 Look down from your holy dwelling, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the country which you have given us, as you swore to our ancestors, a country flowing with milk and honey.” ‘
16 ‘Yahweh your God commands you today to observe these laws and customs; you must keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
17 ‘Today you have obtained this declaration from Yahweh: that he will be your God, but only if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his customs, and listen to his voice.
18 And today Yahweh has obtained this declaration from you: that you will be his own people — as he has said — but only if you keep all his commandments;
19 then for praise and renown and honour, he will raise you higher than every other nation he has made, and you will be a people consecrated to Yahweh, as he has promised.’
1 Moses and the elders of Israel gave the people this command: ‘Keep all the commandments which I am laying down for you today.
2 After you have crossed the Jordan into the country which Yahweh your God is giving you, you must set up tall stones, coat them with lime
3 and on them write all the words of this Law, when you have crossed and entered the country which Yahweh your God is giving you, a country flowing with milk and honey, as Yahweh, God of your ancestors, has promised you.
4 ‘When you have crossed the Jordan, you must erect these stones on Mount Ebal, as I command you today, and coat them with lime.
5 There, for Yahweh your God, you must build an altar of stones, on which no iron has been used.
6 You must build the altar of Yahweh your God of rough stones, and on this altar you will present burnt offerings to Yahweh your God,
7 and immolate communion sacrifices and eat them there, rejoicing in the presence of Yahweh your God.
8 On these stones you must write all the words of this Law; cut them carefully.’
9 Moses and the levitical priests then said to all Israel: ‘Be silent, Israel, and listen. Today you have become a people for Yahweh your God.
10 You must listen to the voice of Yahweh your God and observe the commandments and laws which I am laying down for you today.’
11 That day Moses gave the people this order:
12 ‘When you have crossed the Jordan, the following will stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon and Levi, Judah and Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin.
13 And the following will stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad and Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.
14 The Levites will then speak, proclaiming loudly to all the Israelites:
15 “Accursed be anyone who makes a carved or cast idol, a thing detestable to Yahweh, a workman’s artefact, and sets it up in secret.” And the people are all to respond by saying, Amen.
16 “Accursed be anyone who treats father or mother dishonourably.” And the people must all say, Amen.
17 “Accursed be anyone who displaces a neighbour’s boundary mark.” And the people must all say, Amen.
18 “Accursed be anyone who leads the blind astray on the road.” And the people must all say, Amen.
19 “Accursed be anyone who violates the rights of the foreigner, the orphan and the widow.” And the people must all say, Amen.
20 “Accursed be anyone who has sexual intercourse with his father’s wife and withdraws the skirt of his father’s cloak from her.” And the people must all say, Amen.
21 “Accursed be anyone who has sexual intercourse with any kind of animal.” And the people must all say, Amen.
22 “Accursed be anyone who has sexual intercourse with his sister, the daughter of his father or of his mother.” And the people must all say, Amen.
23 “Accursed be anyone who has sexual intercourse with his mother-in-law.” And the people must all say, Amen.
24 “Accursed be anyone who secretly strikes down his neighbour.” And the people must all say, Amen.
25 “Accursed be anyone who accepts a bribe to take an innocent life.” And the people must all say, Amen.
26 “Accursed be anyone who does not make the words of this Law effective by putting them into practice.” And the people must all say, Amen.’
1 ‘But if you faithfully obey the voice of Yahweh your God, by keeping and observing all his commandments, which I am laying down for you today, Yahweh your God will raise you higher than every other nation in the world,
2 and all these blessings will befall and overtake you, for having obeyed the voice of Yahweh your God.
3 ‘You will be blessed in the town and blessed in the countryside;
4 blessed, the offspring of your body, the yield of your soil, the yield of your livestock, the young of your cattle and the increase of your flocks;
5 blessed, your basket and your kneading trough.
6 You will be blessed in coming home, and blessed in going out.
7 The enemies who attack you, Yahweh will defeat before your eyes; they will advance on you from one direction and flee from you in seven.
8 Yahweh will command blessedness to be with you, on your barns and on all your undertakings, and he will bless you in the country given you by Yahweh your God.
9 ‘From you Yahweh will make a people consecrated to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and follow his ways.
10 The peoples of the world, seeing that you bear Yahweh’s name, will all be afraid of you.
11 Yahweh will make you abound in possessions: in the offspring of your body, in the yield of your cattle and in the yield of your soil, in the country which he swore to your ancestors that he would give you.
12 For you Yahweh will open his treasury of rain, the heavens, to give your country its rain at the right time, and to bless all your labours. You will make many nations your subjects, yet you will be subject to none.
13 Yahweh will put you at the head, not at the tail; you will always be on top and never underneath, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, which I am laying down for you today, and then keep them and put them into practice,
14 not deviating to right or to left from any of the words which I am laying down for you today, by following other gods and serving them.
15 ‘But if you do not obey the voice of Yahweh your God, and do not keep and observe all his commandments and laws which I am laying down for you today then all these curses will befall and overtake you.
16 ‘You will be accursed in the town and accursed in the countryside;
17 accursed, your basket and your kneading trough;
18 accursed, the offspring of your body, the yield of your soil, the young of your cattle and the increase of your flock.
19 You will be accursed in coming home, and accursed in going out.
20 ‘Yahweh will send a curse on you, a spell, an imprecation on all your labours until you have been destroyed and quickly perish, because of your perverse behaviour, for having deserted me.
21 Yahweh will fasten the plague on you, until it has exterminated you from the country which you are about to enter and make your own.
22 Yahweh will strike you down with consumption, fever, inflammation, burning fever, drought, wind-blast, mildew, and these will pursue you to your ruin.
23 The heavens above you will be brass, the earth beneath you iron.
24 Your country’s rain Yahweh will turn into dust and sand; it will fall on you from the heavens until you perish.
25 Yahweh will have you defeated by your enemies; you will advance on them from one direction and flee from them in seven; and you will be a terrifying object-lesson to all the kingdoms of the world.
26 Your carcase will be carrion for all wild birds and all wild animals, with no one to scare them away.
27 ‘Yahweh will strike you down with Egyptian ulcers, with swellings in the groin, with scurvy and the itch, for which you will find no cure.
28 Yahweh will strike you down with madness, blindness, distraction of mind,
29 until you grope your way at noon like a blind man groping in the dark, and your steps will lead you nowhere. ‘You will never be anything but exploited and plundered, with no one to save you.
30 Get engaged to a woman, another man will have her; build a house, you will not live in it; plant a vineyard, you will not gather its first-fruits.
31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes and you will eat none of it; your donkey will be carried off in front of you and not be returned to you; your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will come to your help.
32 Your sons and daughters will be handed over to another people, and every day you will wear your eyes out watching for them, while your hands are powerless.
33 A nation hitherto unknown to you will eat the yield of your soil and of all your hard work. You will never be anything but exploited and crushed.
34 You will be driven mad by the sights you will see.
35 Yahweh will strike you down with foul ulcers on knee and leg, for which you will find no cure — from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.
36 ‘Yahweh will send away both you and the king whom you have appointed to rule you to a nation unknown either to you or to your ancestors, and there you will serve other gods, made of wood and stone.
37 And you will be the astonishment, the byword, the laughing-stock of all the peoples where Yahweh is taking you.
38 ‘You will cast seed in plenty on the fields but harvest little, since the locust will devour it.
39 You will plant and till your vineyards but not drink the wine or gather the grapes, since the grub will eat them up.
40 You will grow olive trees throughout your territory but not anoint yourself with the oil, since your olive trees will be cut down.
41 You will father sons and daughters but they will not belong to you, since they will go into captivity.
42 All your trees and the whole yield of your soil will be the prey of insects.
43 ‘The foreigners living with you will rise higher and higher at your expense, while you yourself sink lower and lower.
44 You will be subject to them, not they to you; they will be the ones at the head, and you the one at the tail.
45 ‘All these curses will befall you, pursue you and overtake you until you have been destroyed, for not having obeyed the voice of Yahweh your God by keeping his commandments and laws which he has laid down for you.
46 They will be a sign and a wonder over you and your descendants for ever.
47 ‘For not having joyfully and with happy heart served Yahweh your God, despite the abundance of everything,
48 you will have to serve the enemy whom Yahweh will send against you, in hunger, thirst, lack of clothing and total privation. He will put an iron yoke on your neck, until he has destroyed you.
49 ‘Against you Yahweh will raise a distant nation from the ends of the earth like an eagle taking wing: a nation whose language you do not understand,
50 a nation grim of face, with neither respect for the old, nor pity for the young.
51 He will eat the yield of your cattle and the yield of your soil until you have been destroyed; he will leave you neither wheat, nor wine, nor oil, nor the young of your cattle, nor increase of your flock, until he has made an end of you.
52 He will besiege you inside all your towns until your loftiest and most strongly fortified walls collapse, on which, throughout your country, you have relied. He will besiege you inside all the towns throughout your country, given you by Yahweh your God.
53 During the siege and in the distress to which your enemy will reduce you, you will eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of the sons and daughters given you by Yahweh your God.
54 The gentlest and tenderest of your men will scowl at his brother, and at the wife whom he embraces, and at his remaining children,
55 not willing to give any of them any of his own children’s flesh, which he is eating; because of the siege and the distress to which your enemy will reduce you in all your towns, he will have nothing left.
56 The most refined and fastidious of your women, so refined, so fastidious that she has never ventured to set the sole of her foot to the ground, will scowl at the husband whom she embraces, and at her son and daughter, and at the after-birth when it leaves her womb, and at the child to which she has given birth-
57 she will hide away and eat them, so complete will be the starvation resulting from the siege and the distress to which your enemy will reduce you in all your towns.
58 ‘If you do not keep and observe all the words of this Law, which are written in this book, in the fear of this glorious and awe-inspiring name: Yahweh your God,
59 Yahweh will strike you down with monstrous plagues, you and your descendants: with plagues grievous and lasting, diseases pernicious and enduring.
60 He will afflict you with all the maladies of Egypt which you used to dread, and they will fasten on you.
61 What is more, Yahweh will afflict you with all the plagues and all the diseases not mentioned in the book of this Law, until you have been destroyed.
62 There will only be a small group of you left, you who were once as numerous as the stars of heaven. ‘For not having obeyed the voice of Yahweh your God,
63 just as Yahweh used to delight in making you happy and in making your numbers grow, so will he take delight in ruining you and destroying you. You will be torn from the country which you are about to enter and make your own.
64 Yahweh will scatter you throughout every people, from one end of the earth to the other; there you will serve other gods made of wood and stone, hitherto unknown either to you or to your ancestors.
65 Among these nations there will be no repose for you, no rest for the sole of your foot; there Yahweh will give you a quaking heart, weary eyes, halting breath.
66 Your life ahead of you will hang in doubt; you will be afraid day and night, uncertain of your life.
67 In the morning you will say, “How I wish it were evening!”, and in the evening you will say, “How I wish it were morning!”, such terror will grip your heart and such sights you will see!
68 Yahweh will send you back to Egypt, either by ship or by a road which I promised you would never see again. And there you will want to offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as serving men and women, but no one will buy you.’
69 These are the words of the covenant which Yahweh ordered Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant which he had made with them at Horeb.
1 Moses called all Israel together and said to them: ‘You have seen everything that Yahweh did before your eyes in Egypt, to Pharaoh, to his servants and to his whole country-
2 the great ordeals which you yourselves witnessed, those signs and the great wonders.
3 But until today Yahweh has not given you a heart to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.
4 ‘I have been leading you for forty years in the desert, yet the clothes which you have been wearing have not worn out, nor have the sandals on your feet.
5 You have had no bread to eat, you have had no wine or fermented liquor to drink, so that you would learn that I, Yahweh, am your God.
6 ‘When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out to do battle against us; we defeated them.
7 We conquered their country and gave it as heritage to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
8 ‘Keep the words of this covenant, put them into practice, and you will thrive in everything you do.
9 ‘All of you are standing here today in the presence of Yahweh your God: your tribal leaders, your elders, your scribes, all the men of Israel,
10 with your children and your wives (and the foreigner too who is in your camp, be he your wood-cutter or your water-carrier),
11 and you are about to pass into the covenant of Yahweh your God, sworn with imprecation, which he has made with you today,
12 and by which, today, he makes you a nation for himself and he himself becomes a God to you, as he has promised you, and as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
13 Not only on your behalf am I today making this covenant and pronouncing this solemn curse,
14 not only on behalf of those standing here with us in the presence of Yahweh our God today, but also on behalf of those not here with us today.
15 ‘Yes, you know the people with whom we used to live in Egypt, and those through whose countries we have travelled — the nations through whom we have passed.
16 You have seen their abominations and their idols made of wood and stone, silver and gold, which were there.
17 ‘Let there be no man or woman of you, no clan or tribe, whose heart turns away from Yahweh your God today, to go and serve the gods of these nations. Among you let there be no root which bears poison or wormwood.
18 If, after hearing this imprecation, anyone, blessing himself, should say in his heart, “I shall do well enough if I follow the dictates of my heart; much water drives away thirst,”
19 Yahweh will not pardon him. The wrath and jealousy of Yahweh will blaze against such a person; every curse written in this book will fall on him, and Yahweh will blot his name out under heaven.
20 Yahweh will single him out of all the tribes of Israel for misfortune, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in the book of this Law.
21 ‘The future generation, that of your children coming after you, and the foreigner arriving from some far-away land, on seeing the plagues and diseases inflicted on this country by Yahweh, will exclaim,
22 “Sulphur! Salt!-The whole country is burning! No one will sow, nothing grow, no vegetation spring ever again! Devastation like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, devastated by Yahweh in his furious wrath!”
23 And all the nations will exclaim, “Why has Yahweh treated this country like this? Why this great blaze of anger?”
24 ‘And people will say, “Because they deserted the covenant of Yahweh, God of their ancestors, the covenant which he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt;
25 because they went and served other gods and worshipped them, gods hitherto unknown to them, gods that were no part of their heritage from him:
26 this is why Yahweh’s anger has blazed against this country, afflicting it with all the curses written in this book.
27 In anger, in fury, in fierce wrath, Yahweh has torn them from their own country and flung them into another country, where they are today.”
28 Things hidden belong to Yahweh our God, but things revealed are ours and our children’s for ever, so that we can put all the words of this Law into practice.’

1 ‘And when all these words have come true for you — the blessing and the curse, which I have offered you — if you meditate on them in your heart wherever among the nations Yahweh your God has driven you,
2 if you return to Yahweh your God, if with all your heart and with all your soul you obey his voice, you and your children, in everything that I am laying down for you today,
3 then Yahweh your God will bring back your captives, he will have pity on you and gather you back from all the peoples among whom Yahweh your God has scattered you.
4 Should you have been banished to the very sky’s end, Yahweh your God will gather you again even from there, will come there to reclaim you
5 and bring you back to the country which belonged to your ancestors, so that you may possess it in your turn, and be made prosperous there and more numerous than your ancestors.
6 ‘Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love Yahweh your God with all your heart and soul, and so will live.
7 Yahweh your God will make all these curses recoil on your foes and on your enemies who have persecuted you.
8 And once again you will obey the voice of Yahweh your God and you will put all his commandments into practice, which I am laying down for you today.
9 Yahweh your God will make you prosper in all your labours, in the offspring of your body, in the yield of your cattle and in the yield of your soil. For once again Yahweh will delight in your prosperity as he used to take delight in the prosperity of your ancestors,
10 if you obey the voice of Yahweh your God, by keeping his commandments and decrees written in the book of this Law, and if you return to Yahweh your God with all your heart and soul.
11 ‘For this Law which I am laying down for you today is neither obscure for you nor beyond your reach.
12 It is not in heaven, so that you need to wonder, “Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to us, so that we can hear and practise it?”
13 Nor is it beyond the seas, so that you need to wonder, “Who will cross the seas for us and bring it back to us, so that we can hear and practise it?”
14 No, the word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to put into practice.
15 ‘Look, today I am offering you life and prosperity, death and disaster.
16 If you obey the commandments of Yahweh your God, which I am laying down for you today, if you love Yahweh your God and follow his ways, if you keep his commandments, his laws and his customs, you will live and grow numerous, and Yahweh your God will bless you in the country which you are about to enter and make your own.
17 But if your heart turns away, if you refuse to listen, if you let yourself be drawn into worshipping other gods and serving them,
18 I tell you today, you will most certainly perish; you will not live for long in the country which you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 Today, I call heaven and earth to witness against you: I am offering you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live,
20 in the love of Yahweh your God, obeying his voice, holding fast to him; for in this your life consists, and on this depends the length of time that you stay in the country which Yahweh swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that he would give them.’(New Jerusalem Bible)

Daily Office for Thursday, January 19, 2012:
Psalm 37:1-40
1 [Of David] Do not get heated about the wicked or envy those who do wrong.
2 Quick as the grass they wither, fading like the green of the fields.
3 Put your trust in Yahweh and do right, make your home in the land and live secure.
4 Make Yahweh your joy and he will give you your heart’s desires.
5 Commit your destiny to Yahweh, be confident in him, and he will act,
6 making your uprightness clear as daylight, and the justice of your cause as the noon.
7 Stay quiet before Yahweh, wait longingly for him, do not get heated over someone who is making a fortune, succeeding by devious means.
8 Refrain from anger, leave rage aside, do not get heated — it can do no good;
9 for evil-doers will be annihilated, while those who hope in Yahweh shall have the land for their own.
10 A little while and the wicked will be no more, however well you search for the place, the wicked will not be there;
11 but the poor will have the land for their own, to enjoy untroubled peace.
12 The wicked plots against the upright and gnashes his teeth at him,
13 but Yahweh only laughs at his efforts, knowing that his end is in sight.
14 Though the wicked draw his sword and bend his bow to slaughter the honest and bring down the poor and the needy,
15 his sword will pierce his own heart, and his bow will be shattered.
16 What little the upright possesses outweighs all the wealth of the wicked;
17 for the weapons of the wicked shall be shattered, while Yahweh supports the upright.
18 The lives of the just are in Yahweh’s care, their birthright will endure for ever;
19 they will not be put to shame when bad times come, in time of famine they will have plenty.
20 The wicked, enemies of Yahweh, will be destroyed, they will vanish like the green of the pasture, they will vanish in smoke.
21 The wicked borrows and will not repay, but the upright is generous in giving;
22 those he blesses will have the land for their own, and those he curses be annihilated.
23 Yahweh guides a strong man’s steps and keeps them firm; and takes pleasure in him.
24 When he trips he is not thrown sprawling, since Yahweh supports him by the hand.
25 Now I am old, but ever since my youth I never saw an upright person abandoned, or the descendants of the upright forced to beg their bread.
26 The upright is always compassionate, always lending, so his descendants reap a blessing.
27 Turn your back on evil and do good, you will have a home for ever,
28 for Yahweh loves justice and will not forsake his faithful. Evil-doers will perish eternally, the descendants of the wicked be annihilated,
29 but the upright shall have the land for their own, there they shall live for ever.
30 Wisdom comes from the lips of the upright, and his tongue speaks what is right;
31 the law of his God is in his heart, his foot will never slip.
32 The wicked keeps a close eye on the upright, looking out for a chance to kill him;
33 Yahweh will never abandon him to the clutches of the wicked, nor let him be condemned if he is tried.
34 Put your hope in Yahweh, keep to his path, he will raise you up to make the land your own; you will look on while the wicked are annihilated.
35 I have seen the wicked exultant, towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
36 When next I passed he was gone, I searched for him and he was nowhere to be found.
37 Observe the innocent, consider the honest, for the lover of peace will not lack children.
38 But the wicked will all be destroyed together, and their children annihilated.
39 The upright have Yahweh for their Saviour, their refuge in times of trouble;
40 Yahweh helps them and rescues them, he will rescue them from the wicked, and save them because they take refuge in him.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Genesis 11:1-9
1 The whole world spoke the same language, with the same vocabulary.
2 Now, as people moved eastwards they found a valley in the land of Shinar where they settled.
3 They said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and bake them in the fire.’ For stone they used bricks, and for mortar they used bitumen.
4 ‘Come,’ they said, ‘let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top reaching heaven. Let us make a name for ourselves, so that we do not get scattered all over the world.’
5 Now Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower that the people had built.
6 ‘So they are all a single people with a single language!’ said Yahweh. ‘This is only the start of their undertakings! Now nothing they plan to do will be beyond them.
7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they cannot understand one another.’
8 Yahweh scattered them thence all over the world, and they stopped building the city.
9 That is why it was called Babel, since there Yahweh confused the language of the whole world, and from there Yahweh scattered them all over the world.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Hebrews 6:13-20
13 When God made the promise to Abraham, he swore by his own self, since there was no one greater he could swear by:
14 I will shower blessings on you and give you many descendants.
15 Because of that, Abraham persevered and received fulfilment of the promise.
16 Human beings, of course, swear an oath by something greater than themselves, and between them, confirmation by an oath puts an end to all dispute.
17 In the same way, when God wanted to show the heirs of the promise even more clearly how unalterable his plan was, he conveyed it by an oath
18 so that through two unalterable factors in which God could not be lying, we who have fled to him might have a vigorous encouragement to grasp the hope held out to us.
19 This is the anchor our souls have, reaching right through inside the curtain
20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever, of the order of Melchizedek.(New Jerusalem Bible)
John 4:1-15
1 When Jesus heard that the Pharisees had found out that he was making and baptising more disciples than John-
2 though in fact it was his disciples who baptised, not Jesus himself-
3 he left Judaea and went back to Galilee.
4 He had to pass through Samaria.
5 On the way he came to the Samaritan town called Sychar near the land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Jacob’s well was there and Jesus, tired by the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Give me something to drink.’
8 His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew. How is it that you ask me, a Samaritan, for something to drink?’ — Jews, of course, do not associate with Samaritans.
10 Jesus replied to her: If you only knew what God is offering and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me something to drink,’ you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water.
11 ‘You have no bucket, sir,’ she answered, ‘and the well is deep: how do you get this living water?
12 Are you a greater man than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his sons and his cattle?’
13 Jesus replied: Whoever drinks this water will be thirsty again;
14 but no one who drinks the water that I shall give will ever be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will become a spring of water within, welling up for eternal life.
15 ‘Sir,’ said the woman, ‘give me some of that water, so that I may never be thirsty or come here again to draw water.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
Wulfstan:
Psalm 146:4-9
4 When his spirit goes forth he returns to the earth, on that very day all his plans come to nothing.
5 How blessed is he who has Jacob’s God to help him, his hope is in Yahweh his God,
6 who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them. He keeps faith for ever,
7 gives justice to the oppressed, gives food to the hungry; Yahweh sets prisoners free.
8 Yahweh gives sight to the blind, lifts up those who are bowed down.
9 Yahweh protects the stranger, he sustains the orphan and the widow. Yahweh loves the upright,but he frustrates the wicked.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Exodus 3:1-12
1 Moses was looking after the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led it to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 The angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame blazing from the middle of a bush. Moses looked; there was the bush blazing, but the bush was not being burnt up.
3 Moses said, ‘I must go across and see this strange sight, and why the bush is not being burnt up.’
4 When Yahweh saw him going across to look, God called to him from the middle of the bush. ‘Moses, Moses!’ he said. ‘Here I am,’ he answered.
5 ‘Come no nearer,’ he said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.
6 I am the God of your ancestors,’ he said, ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ At this Moses covered his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 Yahweh then said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying for help on account of their taskmasters. Yes, I am well aware of their sufferings.
8 And I have come down to rescue them from the clutches of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that country, to a country rich and broad, to a country flowing with milk and honey, to the home of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.
9 Yes indeed, the Israelites’ cry for help has reached me, and I have also seen the cruel way in which the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10 So now I am sending you to Pharaoh, for you to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.’
11 Moses said to God, ‘Who am I to go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’
12 ‘I shall be with you,’ God said, ‘and this is the sign by which you will know that I was the one who sent you. After you have led the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
Genesis 26:26-31
26 Abimelech came from Gerar to see him, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.
27 Isaac said to them, ‘Why do you come to me since you hate me, and have made me leave you?’
28 ‘It became clear to us that Yahweh was with you,’ they replied, ‘and so we thought, “It is time to have a treaty sworn between us, between us and you.” So let us make a covenant with you:
29 that you will not do us any harm, since we never molested you but were unfailingly kind to you and let you go away in peace. Henceforth, Yahweh’s blessing on you!’
30 He then made them a feast and they ate and drank.
31 Early next morning, they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac bade them farewell and they left him as friends.(New Jerusalem Bible)
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
1 People should think of us as Christ’s servants, stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God.
2 In such a matter, what is expected of stewards is that each one should be found trustworthy.
3 It is of no importance to me how you or any other human court may judge me: I will not even be the judge of my own self.
4 It is true that my conscience does not reproach me, but that is not enough to justify me: it is the Lord who is my judge.
5 For that reason, do not judge anything before the due time, until the Lord comes; he will bring to light everything that is hidden in darkness and reveal the designs of all hearts. Then everyone will receive from God the appropriate commendation.(New Jerusalem Bible)
1 Samuel 18:6–9
6 On their return, when David was coming back from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of Israel singing and dancing to meet King Saul, with tambourines, sistrums and cries of joy;
7 and as they danced the women sang: Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.
8 Saul was very angry; the incident displeased him. ‘They have given David the tens of thousands,’ he said, ‘but me only the thousands; what more can he have, except the throne?’
9 And Saul watched David jealously from that day onwards.(New Jerusalem Bible)
1 Samuel 19:1–8
1 Saul let his son Jonathan and all his servants know of his intention to kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, held David in great affection;
2 and Jonathan warned David, ‘My father Saul is looking for a way to kill you, so be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding, stay out of sight.
3 I shall go out and keep my father company in the countryside where you will be, and shall talk to my father about you; I shall see what the situation is and then tell you.’
4 Jonathan spoke highly of David to Saul his father and said, ‘The king should not harm his servant David; far from harming you, what he has done has been greatly to your advantage.
5 He took his life in his hands, he killed the Philistine, and Yahweh brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw for yourself. How pleased you were! Why then sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?’
6 Saul was impressed by Jonathan’s words. Saul swore, ‘As Yahweh lives, I will not kill him.’
7 Jonathan called David and told him all this. Jonathan then brought him to Saul, and David remained in attendance as before.
8 War broke out again and David sallied out to fight the Philistines; he inflicted a great defeat on them and they fled before him.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 56
1 [For the choirmaster Tune: 'The oppression of distant princes' Of David In a quiet voice When the Philistines seized him in Gath] Take pity on me, God, as they harry me, pressing their attacks home all day.
2 Those who harry me lie in wait for me all day, countless are those who attack me from the heights.
3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you,
4 in God, whose word I praise, in God I put my trust and have no fear, what power has human strength over me?
5 All day long they carp at my words, their only thought is to harm me,
6 they gather together, lie in wait and spy on my movements, as though determined to take my life.
7 Because of this crime reject them, in your anger, God, strike down the nations.
8 You yourself have counted up my sorrows, collect my tears in your wineskin.
9 Then my enemies will turn back on the day when I call. This I know, that God is on my side.
10 In God whose word I praise, in Yahweh whose word I praise,
11 in God I put my trust and have no fear; what can mortal man do to me?
12 I am bound by the vows I have made, God, I will pay you the debt of thanks,
13 for you have saved my life from death to walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Mark 3:7–12
7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea,
8 and from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea and Transjordan and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him.
9 And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed.
10 For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him.
11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’
12 But he warned them strongly not to make him known.(New Jerusalem Bible)

Thursday, 19 January 2012
Thursday of the Second week in Ordinary Time
Saint(s) of the day:St. Canutus, King of Denmark and Martyr (1040-1086)
Commentary of the day:
Saint Bernard (1091-1153), Cistercian monk and doctor of the Church
The Degrees of humility and pride, ch. 3, §6.12 (trans. Classics of Western Spirituality)
“Those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him”
We have an example in our Savior, who wanted to suffer so that he should know how to suffer with us, to become wretched so that he could learn mercy, as it is written: «He learned obedience from the things he suffered» (Heb 5,8). He learned mercy in the same way… But perhaps you find it hard to accept the idea that Christ, the Wisdom of God (l Cor 1:24) “learned” mercy…?
You see, then, that Christ has two natures in one Person, one which always was and another which began to be. And according to that nature which was eternally his he always knew everything. But according to that which began in time, he experienced many things in time. In this way he began to know the miseries of the flesh, by that mode of cognition which the weakness of the flesh instructs. Our first parents were wiser and happier when they did not have this experience, but God their Creator, “seeking what was lost” (Lk 19,10), came down in mercy in pur­suit of his wretched creatures, to where they had miserably fallen…
He did not intend to remain wretched among them, but to free those who were wretched as one made merciful. “Made merciful”, I say, not with that mercy which he who remained happy had had from eternity, but with that mercy which he discovered as a mediator who was one of us… Oh, supreme delicacy of thoughtfulness! Should we have been able to imagine that wonderful mercy if we had not seen it come to us in wretchedness? Should we have been able even to conceive of that unknown compassion toward us if the impassability which is everlast­ing had not come to us in the Passion?… He did not lose anything of his everlasting mercy. But he added this to it. He did not change it but he multiplied it, as it is written, “You will save man and beast, Lord. How you have multi­plied your mercy, 0 God!” (Ps 36[35],7-8 Vg).

1st Thought for Today:
My Utmost for His Highest
Reading for Thursday 19th January 2012
VISION AND DARKNESS by Oswald Chambers
An horror of great darkness fell upon him.(Genesis 15:12)
Whenever God gives a vision to a saint, He puts him, as it were, in the shadow of His hand, and the saint’s duty is to be still and listen. There is a darkness which comes from excess of light, and then is the time to listen. Genesis 16 is an illustration of listening to good advice when it is dark instead of waiting for God to send the light. When God gives a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will make you in accordance with the vision He has given if you will wait His time. Never try and help God fulfil His word. Abraham went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all self-sufficiency was destroyed; there was no possibility left of relying on common-sense ways. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not of displeasure. Never pump up joy and confidence, but stay upon God (cf. Isaiah 50:10,11).
Have I any confidence in the flesh? Or have I got beyond all confidence in myself and in men and women of God; in books and prayers and ecstasies; and is my confidence placed now in God Himself, not in His blessings? “I am the Almighty God” – El-Shaddai, the Father-Mother God. The one thing for which we are all being disciplined is to know that God is real. As soon as God becomes real, other people become shadows. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever perturb the one who is built on God.

Reflecting God-God Will Always Be With You, Always
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Scripture-Psalm 47
1 [For the choirmaster Of the sons of Korah Psalm] Clap your hands, all peoples, acclaim God with shouts of joy.
2 For Yahweh, the Most High, is glorious, the great king over all the earth.
3 He brings peoples under our yoke and nations under our feet.
4 He chooses for us our birthright, the pride of Jacob whom he loves.Pause
5 God goes up to shouts of acclaim, Yahweh to a fanfare on the ram’s horn.
6 Let the music sound for our God, let it sound, let the music sound for our king, let it sound.
7 For he is king of the whole world; learn the music, let it sound for God!
8 God reigns over the nations, seated on his holy throne.
9 The leaders of the nations rally to the people of the God of Abraham. The shields of the earth belong to God, who is exalted on high.(New Jerusalem Bible)
God Will Always Be With You, Always by Lenny Wisehart
Psalm 47 is a war psalm. It celebrates God’s triumphant reign before the battle: “He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet” (verse 3). It celebrates God’s triumphant reign in the battle: “God has ascended amid shouts of joy” (verse 5). It also celebrates God’s triumphant reign after the battle: “For God is the King of all the earth” (verse 7). The psalm is set in a world in revolt against the Lord. Nevertheless our God goes into battle and subdues the nations. We have nothing to fear.
Scholars have suggested that this psalm was used during temple worship. A time of celebration! God’s children are to sometimes worship him with great enthusiasm and outward joy, to clap their hands to the Lord. Sometimes that worship is about who God is, sometimes it is about what he has done or is doing, and sometimes it is about what he will do (as is the case here).
Has God been with you in the past? Is he with you now? Then doesn’t it make sense that whatever you are facing in the future–he is already there? No wonder we have reason to clap our hands in praise to Him!
Hymn for Today:
“Alleluia! Sing to Jesus” by William C. Dix
1. Alleluia! Sing to Jesus;
His the scepter, His the throne;
Alleluia! His the triumph,
His the victory alone.
Hark! The songs of peaceful Zion
Thunder like a mighty flood:
“Jesus out of every nation
Has redeemed us by His blood.”
2. Alleluia! Not as orphans
Are we left in sorrow now;
Alleluia! He is near us:
Faith believes, nor questions how.
Though the cloud from sight received Him
When the forty days were over,
Shall our hearts forget His promise:
“I am with you ever-more”?
3. Alleluia! Bread of heaven,
Here on earth our food, our stay;
Alleluia! Here the sinful
Flee to You from day to day.
Intercessor, Friend of sinners,
Earth’s Redeemer, hear our plea
Where the songs of all the sinless
Sweep across the crystal sea.
4. Alleluia! King eternal,
Lord omnipotent we own;
Alleluia! Born of Mary,
Earth Your foot-stool, heaven Your throne.
As within the veil You entered,
Robed in flesh, our great high priest,
Here on earth both priest and victim
In the eucharistic feast.
5. Alleluia! Sing to Jesus;
His the scepter, His the throne;
Alleluia! His the triumph,
His the victory alone.
Hark! The songs of peaceful Zion
Thunder like a mighty flood:
“Jesus out of every nation
Has redeemed us by His blood.”
2nd Thought for Today:
“Hope, when cultivated in times of affliction, always produces encouragement”(Neil B. Wiseman).
Prayer Needs:
Many people in Norway will come to know Christ and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

The Upper Room Daily Devotional
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Still a Caterpillar
Suggested Bible Reading:
Read 2 Corinthians 3:7-18
7 Now if the administering of death, engraved in letters on stone, occurred in such glory that the Israelites could not look Moses steadily in the face, because of its glory, transitory though this glory was,
8 how much more will the ministry of the Spirit occur in glory!
9 For if it is glorious to administer condemnation, to administer saving justice is far richer in glory.
10 Indeed, what was once considered glorious has lost all claim to glory, by contrast with the glory which transcends it.
11 For if what was transitory had any glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts for ever.
12 With a hope like this, we can speak with complete fearlessness;
13 not like Moses who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites should not watch the end of what was transitory.
14 But their minds were closed; indeed, until this very day, the same veil remains over the reading of the Old Testament: it is not lifted, for only in Christ is it done away with.
15 As it is, to this day, whenever Moses is read, their hearts are covered with a veil,
16 and this veil will not be taken away till they turn to the Lord.
17 Now this Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 And all of us, with our unveiled faces like mirrors reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the image that we reflect in brighter and brighter glory; this is the working of the Lord who is the Spirit.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Today’s Scripture:
All of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.(2 Corinthians 3:18 (NRSV))
Today’s Devotional
On the third night of vacation Bible school, our pastor asked the assembled students, “What happens when we invite Jesus into our hearts?” Little hands shot up. A five-year-old in the front row waved his arms, bursting to speak. “We change into a caterpillar,” he answered with confidence. As the one who had taught his class the story of how a caterpillar changes into a butterfly, I joined with his parents in a good laugh.
The next day the pastor suggested that maybe what the child had said is just what happens. Upon reading again about the stages of life for the butterfly, I agreed. The caterpillar has only two aims: eating and growing. It can grow only so much and then must shed its old skin to continue the transformation. This happens four or five times along the way to its becoming a butterfly.
So, even though I am a long-time follower of our Lord, I am still a “caterpillar.” Echoing Hebrews 6:1, we are all moving “on toward perfection.” In order to become more like Jesus, we feed on God’s word and grow. Yes, we may seem to stop growing at times. Whether from spiritual laziness or overwhelming trouble, we hold tight — refusing to let go of our old “skin.” Still, God is faithful — always and forever guiding us toward becoming more like Christ. by Anita Kramer (Ohio, USA)
3rd Thought for the Day: For more information about discipling young people, go to www.upperroom.org/chrysalis.
Prayer: O good and gracious God, we ask for your Holy Spirit to change us from within to help us become more like Christ. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Someone holding on to an old “skin”
The scripture quotation, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2012 by The Upper Room, a ministry of GBOD. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or redistribute without written permission from the publisher.

Daily Meditation: Living on our One Earth — January 19, 2012
Center for Action and Contemplation
LIVING ON OUR ONE EARTH
“God has let us in on the mystery of His purpose, a hidden plan,” says Ephesians 1:3-11. And it sure is hidden, so well hidden that very few saw “the plan God so kindly made from the very beginning in Christ.” John Duns Scotus said that “Christ is the first idea in the mind of God.” In other words, God from the very beginning wanted to “materialize.” The Divine wants to manifest itself in an endless outpouring of Trinitarian Love. The result is “Christ” (which is not Jesus’ last name, but what He came to reveal! See, for example, Acts 2:36).
Picture the Russian nesting dolls: each one captures and encloses a smaller one. The first doll and the last doll are the Christ Mystery. In between is the evolution and the ever-coming of this eternal hidden mystery. In the end God will bring together everything under the title of “Christ”—everything in Heaven and everything on the Earth (Colossians 1:15-20). This is far bigger than the Christian religion; in fact many Christians fight it and resist this “Second Coming,” and I know some Hindus, Jews, and Buddhists who are riding the full wave of Divine Love. The fact that many Christians have fought the very notion of evolution shows that we didn’t understand the Cosmic Christ at all: God creates things that continue to create themselves (Romans 8:19-25), which is exactly what any true parent wants and fully understands. Why would God be different?
Jesus is the focused revelation of what God is doing everywhere and all the time. The Jesus story is the Universe story, and you do not need to be a Christian to see that. He is what Shakespeare would call “the play within the play,” or the microcosm of the macrocosm. His role is to visibly hold together matter and spirit, divine and human—and thus reveal the Christ Mystery that always was and always will be. And you are in on that deal! Adapted from Soul Centering Through Nature: Becoming a True Human Adult (webcast) (CD/DVD/MP3)
Starter Prayer:
I am part of the whole. by Father Richard Rohr

4th Thought for Today:
Thursday January 19, 2012
Creating Space to Dance Together
When we feel lonely we keep looking for a person or persons who can take our loneliness away. Our lonely hearts cry out, “Please hold me, touch me, speak to me, pay attention to me.” But soon we discover that the person we expect to take our loneliness away cannot give us what we ask for. Often that person feels oppressed by our demands and runs away, leaving us in despair. As long as we approach another person from our loneliness, no mature human relationship can develop. Clinging to one another in loneliness is suffocating and eventually becomes destructive. For love to be possible we need the courage to create space between us and to trust that this space allows us to dance together. by Father Henri J. M. Nouwen

5th Thought for Today:
Thursday 19 January 2012
An Insight from Jung
Carl Jung in one of his letters says this: I find you Christians a very good people. When you see somebody in prison, you see Jesus. When you see somebody hungry, you give him food and see Jesus. When you see someone naked, you see Jesus. But what I don’t understand is why you don’t see Jesus in your own poverty. Why is it that you see him in the poor that are outside of you but you don’t in the poor one that is inside of you? by Jean Vanier

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘I will take the Israelites out of the
nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring
them back into their own land.’” (Ezekiel 37:21)
Shalom,
Seventy years ago, on January 20, 1942 at the Wannsee Conference in
suburb of Berlin Germany, the Nazi killing machine was set in motion
with the intention of wiping out all 11 million Jews living in Europe.
Six million European Jews were murdered before that killing machine was stopped.
Next Friday, January 27, is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a
memorial day for the victims of that genocide. That day was chosen as the
Holocaust Remembrance Day by the United Nations (UN), since it is also
the anniversary of the liberation by Soviet troops of the largest Nazi death
camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, in Poland.
Why Remember the Holocaust?
The world should never forget what happened in Europe in the 1930s and
1940s. It’s hoped that by learning about and remembering the Holocaust,
the world will work toward preventing genocide.
We can also learn a thing or two about anti-Semitism, and the promises of God.
The Holocaust is ever before our eyes here in Israel, because the modern
state of Israel came into existence on the heels of the surviving Jews of the
Holocaust returning to Israel en masse.
It was a sad time in history but also a fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy as God
returned them to their Biblical homeland after 2000 years in exile.
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to
the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my
daughters from the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 43:5–6)
“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will save My people from the
countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in
Jerusalem; they will be My people, and I will be faithful and righteous to
them as their God.’” (Zechariah 8:7-8)
Reclaiming Israel
Every day our ministry workers are visiting the small towns and villages
throughout Israel, where there is a spirit to reclaim this nation as one that
is dedicated to God. These towns and villages were rebuilt by Holocaust
survivors and their children.
Today our ministry workers were on the West Bank in the towns of Bet El,
Ariel, and Tapuach ministering to the people there.
Many of these towns are being established by Jews who believe strongly in
the Word of God, and they are settling the land that God promised to them
through the Covenant He made through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring My people
Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave
their forefathers to possess,’ says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 30:3)
A cousin of one our Bibles For Israel ministry workers, Tzippy, said in
Hebrew, “My grandmother, a Holocaust survivor from the Auschwitz
concentration camp, who recently died, told me that it’s my destiny, my
husband Elad’s destiny, and our three children’s destiny, to live here.
“And one day this small village will grow into a large town like Ariel, which is
seven kilometers from here. Ariel also was once a small village.
“Even though we’re surrounded by Palestinian Islamic towns who would
love to destroy us, we’re not scared to live here. We have a lot of soldiers
guarding our village from the Arabs,” Tzippy said.
Satan has done everything to wipe out the Jewish people, and thereby break
the promises that God made in the Bible, which would make the Bible null and void.
But God has kept His promises in the midst of Satan’s plot to destroy the
Jewish people–the People of the Book–that He would re-establish them
in their Biblical Land to show the world His Everlasting Covenant.
Many of our Bibles For Israel ministry workers’ parents, grandparents,
aunts and uncles were in Hitler’s concentration camps. Some survived but
many did not.
Wicked Decisions: The Anniversary of the Wannsee Conference
“For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring
you back.” (Isaiah 54:7)
Tomorrow, many Israelis and Holocaust scholars around the world will
gather to mark the 70th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference where 15
high-ranking German officials from all the departments of the Nazi
government agreed upon the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question.”
The 85-minute conference dedicated to Jewish genocide was named after
the suburb of Berlin in which it was held.
The villa at 56–58 Am Groben Wannsee where the conference was hosted,
survived the Second World War. Today, it’s a memorial and educational
site with a permanent exhibit called “The Wannsee Conference and the
Genocide of the European Jews.”
The House of the Wannsee Conference displays the historical documents
and evidence that has survived.
Despite the brutality and viciousness of these comments, they are
whitewashed versions of the real comments. The recording secretary of the
meeting deliberately substituted coded language when referring to inhumane
ways to murder innocent Jews.
For instance, the phrase “eliminated by natural causes” refers to death by a
combination of hard labor and starvation.
Heydrich and Eichmann
Among several things about the Wannsee Conference that stand
out is the meticulous lists of the numbers of Jews living in each country in
Europe, including the 200 living in Albania.
These lists reveal that the Nazis meant business when they said they intended
to kill every single Jew in Europe. They were not ready to let any get away,
even the tiny handful in strategically insignificant Albania.
Another reason the Conference is remarkable is that, with the exception of
SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich, Himmler’s second in command
of the SS, most of the participants were not well known.
Aside from their presence at Wannsee, their names might have faded into
history along with hundreds of other bureaucrats.
That is, except for one—Adolf Eichmann—a deportation expert whose
infamy, perhaps, is largely an accident of history.
Eichmann’s Role in the Final Solution
SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Adolf Eichmann, who had drafted for the
conference a meticulous list of the Jewish population in each European
country, was the recording secretary of the Wannsee Conference.
As a deportation expert, he was there primarily to offer advice about the
logistics of transporting the Jews to concentration camps. And he was given
great authority to carry out this assignment.
As the German’s finally lost the war, he escaped from Europe to Argentina,
where he lived under a false identity until 1960, when he was kidnapped by
the Mossad (Israel’s Secret Service) and brought to Jerusalem to
stand trial for “crimes against humanity.”
After a sensational trial which was broadcast live around the world by
dozens of TV news stations, Eichmann was found guilty and sentenced to death.
He was hanged shortly before midnight on May 31, 1962 at a prison in
Ramla (a city between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv)—the first and so far only
prisoner ever to be executed in Israel following a civil trial.
The trial and execution of Eichmann was a cathartic experience for many
Israelis and Holocaust survivors around the world. Many said it brought
them what would later come to be known as “a sense of closure” as
Eichmann had come to symbolize the entire Nazi regime and the Holocaust
it carried out.
New Threats to Israel’s Existence
But the enemies of Israel and the Jewish people were not done.
Just five years after Eichmann’s death, in 1967, Gamal Abdel Nasser
threatened to “annihilate the Jews.”
In an article in the Washington Post he said, “We knew that by closing the
Gulf of Aqaba it might mean war with Israel. [If war comes] it will be total
and the objective will be to destroy Israel.” (Washington Post, May 27, 1967)
Other Arabs, like the leaders of Syria and Jordan, backed this bid. The
Grand Mufti of Syria said, “The hour has come to end Israel’s existence.”
(New York Times, May 28, 1967)
To the surprise of the entire world, however, the IDF under the command of
General Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan launched a
surprise preemptive strike against the Arab air forces.
In the opening hours of a campaign, which would come to be known as the
Six Day War, the Arab forces were decimated.
Again, many Israelis celebrated, thinking they could finally relax a little.
But just six years later, in 1973, the armies of Egypt and Syria attacked
Israel on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), the holiest day of the Jewish
calendar, catching the IDF completely off guard.
The victory of the Six Day War was almost totally reversed before these
armies were stopped and turned back by what many believe was nothing less
than Divine Intervention.
New Threats from a Unity Government between Hamas and Fatah?
Again and again over the ensuing decades, the Satanically-inspired hatred for
Israel has manifested itself in attempts to “wipe Israel off the map,” as
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad infamously first said in 2005.
In recent days, another meeting, inspired by the same spirit of Wannsee, was
held between representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood-linked terrorist
organization Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) which is now
backed by the European Union and other countries in the West.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) was formed in 1994 as a five-year interim
body created as a result of the Oslo Accords to administer Palestinians in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip until negotiations with Israel concluded.
Hamas was founded in 1987 to liberate Palestine from Israel and it rejects
Israel’s existence. It is an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
In 2006, when Hamas won the seat of Prime Minister during Palestinian
legislative elections, Hamas and Fatah engaged in violent conflict and the
unity government collapsed.
The ostensible purpose of the meeting was to arrange for Hamas to join the
Palestine Liberation Organization and Fatah—the party founded by
Yasser Arafat—in a unity government which would be in charge of the
Palestinian population.
This presents the Palestinian Authority with several problems, as well as opportunities.
On the one hand, the Palestinian people of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
have made it clear that they want a unity government. Most Palestinians
regard the physical separation of the populations in Hamas ruled Gaza and
PA ruled cities in the West Bank as unacceptable.
On the other hand, if the PA agrees to merge with Hamas (Palestinian Sunni
Islamic party), they run the risk of losing their funding from the US and EU,
as well as cooperation with Israel.
Western money and the cooperation with Israel has led to a dramatic
increase in the quality of life for many Palestinians, but it’s based on
compromises including renouncing terrorist attacks against Israel, which
many Palestinians find distasteful, humiliating and against their core interests.
The other danger is that Hamas, which is ideologically much stronger with
more clearly defined goals (the replacement of Israel with a Palestinian
Islamic state), might in time come to dominate the government and simply do
whatever it wants, in which case the PA would lose everything it has gained
in recent years anyway.
The one thing all the Palestinian factions (including some leaders of
traditional Christian churches) can agree on is their hatred for Israel and the
Jews, and the need to remove the “Jewish State.”
If Adolf Eichmann and the rest of the men who attended the Wannsee
Conference were still alive, they would no doubt be eager to help destroy
Israel and the Jewish People.
The Jewish People need peace, but their enemies are never going to give it
to them on a silver platter.
The only way there will ever be peace in the Middle East is if Yeshua (Jesus)
the Prince of Peace, is reigning in the hearts and minds of the people who live here.
The Jewish People need their Messiah, and the best way for them to meet
Him is by reading the Messianic Prophecy Bible.
“For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones …
Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king.
They will come trembling to the Lord and to His blessings in the last days.” (Hosea 3:4-5)

THURSDAY 01.19.12 from The Church of the Resurrection-United Methodist in Leawood, Kansas, United States
Philippians 4:4 “Always be joyful, then, in the Lord; I repeat, be joyful.
5 Let your good sense be obvious to everybody. The Lord is near.
6 Never worry about anything; but tell God all your desires of every kind in prayer and petition shot through with gratitude,
7 and the peace of God which is beyond our understanding will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.”(New Jerusalem Bible)
Picture a very close relationship characterized by the qualities in this passage. Gladness, gentleness, an absence of anxiety, a spirit of gratitude and a deep, abiding peace are traits that most of us
would be thrilled to have in a mate. And, since God offers us the gift of growing into these qualities ourselves, that could make us more appealing to others, too.
• “Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people,” Paul wrote (verse 5). One marriage counselor noted the sad irony that many people treat strangers or casual acquaintances far more gently than they do their spouse or children. How’s your gentleness quotient toward “all people”? How is it toward those you are closest to?
• Verse 6 reads, “Don’t be anxious about anything; rather bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks.” Do you pray about your closest relationships? Are you at ease talking with God about problems and concerns in that area of life? Do you give thanks for those you love, and who love you?
PRAYER FOR THE WEEK:
Lord God, you are love, and you created us for loving relationships with you and with each other. But we have varying backgrounds, personalities and abilities. Help my heart as well as my mind to learn that you love me just as I am, and that you love me too much to leave me as I am. As I commit myself to you each day, increase my capacity first to receive your love, and then to love my spouse, children, friends and even strangers who so need your love. Amen.
Thursday 1.19.12 Insight from Rev. Glen Shoup
Rev. Glen Shoup is the Congregational Care pastor for members of the Resurrection family who have last names beginning with A – C.
This is a really important passage of scripture that Paul gives us; it is an essential descriptor of what Christ-like living looks like (in all relationships, including our romantic relationships). But what if these verses were not a collection of admonitions for us to live by, but rather a prescriptive picture of the interdependent realities we’ll experience when we approach life as St. Paul encourages us to in today’s reading? What if rather than hearing this passage as a collection or list of admonitions for us to remember and do (e.g., rejoice in the Lord always…be gentle…don’t worry)—what if we heard this passage as a narration of what happens when we live into what Paul is describing?
In other words (and you may want to have Philippians 4:4-7 beside you so you can look back and forth as you read this), when we choose to rejoice in the Lord always (i.e., regardless of whether we feel like it), we find that the natural by-product of this decision is a perspective of gentleness towards others (including and especially those closest to us—like our husband or wife). And as we live into this outgrowth of gentleness towards others (that comes from being grounded in a perspective of thanksgiving or “rejoicing” towards God), we find that the Lord is (feels) near to us. And as a result of feeling the Lord is near to us, we increasingly find ourselves freed from worry because we feel God near to us, so we increasingly turn to God in prayer (instead of turning inward, asking ourselves “what in the world will I do”) with all the joys, concerns and burdens of our life. And the more we turn to God in prayer (because we feel God near us because we are living into gentleness because our perspectives are shaped by a choice for gratitude and rejoicing)…well the more we turn to God in prayer—the more we begin to experience the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding: in other words, we experience and feel God’s peace even in the midst of things that otherwise should leave us stressed and worried. And that peace of God that comes from sharing everything with God in prayer (because we feel the Lord near us because we are living out of gentleness because our lives are grounded in an attitude of gratitude)—well that peace of God, guards our hearts and minds from being distracted away from following after Christ as the first and most important priority in our lives.
And the more we stay centered in Christ as the most important priority in our lives, the more we will choose an attitude of gratitude (rejoicing in the Lord always)—regardless of how we feel; and as we do this more and more, we will find that the natural outgrowth of this attitude of gratitude is living in gentleness towards others; and the more we do this…well, you get the idea!
Lord, help me today and every day to live into the reality described in these words you gave through Paul hundreds of years ago—in Jesus name, Amen.

Sermon for Today:
Gideon: What Hindered You? by Alexander Whyte (1836-1921)..
We are not told to whom we are indebted for the Book of The Judges, but whoever he was, he was a master of the pen, and the story of Gideon is his masterpiece. A powerfully built, middle-aged man of Manasseh is busy beating out a few blasted ears of corn in a secret winepress. He beats the sheaves softly lest the sound of his staff should tell the Midianites where the wheat is. He stops his work to dry his face and to wet his lips, but all the water in the well would not put out the fire that is in his eye, for the fire that is in his eye is his hot heart rising to heaven against the oppressors of his people. The Lord is with thee, the angel of the Lord appeared at that moment and said to Gideon, for thou art a mighty man of valour. Gideon thought that the angel of the Lord was mocking at him in so speaking. The Lord with me! and I have not meal enough to make my children’s supper, a mighty man of valour, when I am afraid to thrash out my few stalks of wheat on the thrashing-floor, but must hide myself in this hidden winepress! Call me not a mighty man of valour. Call me a God-forsaken coward! But the angel of the Lord only the more went on, Go in this thy might and thou shalt save Israel.
No sooner had the angel of the Lord taken his departure than Gideon threw down his staff and went into the house where his mother sat mourning day and night for the loss of her sons slain at Tabor, each one resembling the son of a king. And Gideon said to his weeping mother, Awake, my mother, and sing to me the song of Deborah. And while she only the more sat and wept, her son took out and whetted his sword and sharpened his axe. Sing to me, he said, how Deborah and Barak arose and delivered Israel. Sing to me, ye daughters of Joash, of how the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. Night fell; and at midnight, behold ten men, and each man with a pitcher and a lamp in it in his left hand, and with his axe in his right hand, stole out of his house and met Gideon. Their meeting was beside the altar of Baal and in the grove of Baal, which was built and planted in Joash s high place. For, how could Joash s son think to cast out a single Midianite as long as that unclean altar and those unclean trees stood beside his father s house? He could not. But at every blow of Gideon’s swift axe new strength came into his arm. At every tree that fell before his axe his courage rose. And the light of God’s countenance returned already to Israel in every star that shone down through the opening spaces in the grove of Baal. Why is your life in such bondage and fear and famine tonight? Why have you not been fed today and every day with the finest of the wheat? Why are you not satisfied every day with honey out of the rock? Arise in this thy might, and the Lord will make of thee also a mighty man of valour. Be sure of this, that thy sure way to deliverance and peace and plenty lies for thee also through that levelled grove and over that prostrate altar.
The dearest idol I have known,
What ere that idol be,
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.
The worshippers of Baal never neglected their morning devotions. Early will I seek thee, they could say to their god with truth and a good con science. And thus it was that before Joash was up that morning the men of the city were gathered already round his door, shouting and demanding, and saying, Bring out thy son Gideon that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove of Baal. Many men who have not the courage to do a righteous deed themselves have the sense and the grace to be glad when other men do it. And some times you will see a father who is entangled in some evil or doubtful business, but has not the courage or the strength to cut himself and his house clear of it, a proud enough father when his son rises up and sets the whole household free. A vein of true humour ran in the Joash blood ; for that morning the old man met the men of the city with a jest that scattered them all home, just as Gideon his son has enriched our literature to this day with more than one witty word and ready and racy answer. For shame! said Joash, for shame, sirs! Stand back, and go home. Let Baal redress his own wrongs. Baal is a god: and you are only my everyday neighbours. Let Baal arise, but go you home! And Joash brought out Gideon and baptized him Jerubbaal before them all, saying, Let Baal settle his own scores with my sacrilegious son. Let her ladyship now save herself, said John Knox, as he cast the wooden idol overboard. She is light enough; let her learn to swim. After that, we read, was no Scottish man ever urged with that idolatry.
Gideon was a great favourite with Pascal. Gideon s fleece had taken a great hold of Pascal s imagination. You all know the fine story of Gideon s fleece. Gideon was a humble-minded man. Not Moses himself was a more humble-minded man than Gideon was, or more unwilling to come out and be a great man before Israel. Oh, my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father s house. But, had Gideon not been poor in Manasseh, and the least in his father’s house, God would have gone elsewhere for a leader to deliver Israel. And this is always the way of the Lord with men who are to do a great work for Him and for His people to that man will I look, saith the Lord, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembleth at My word. And God said to Gideon, What sign shall I show thee to assure and to confirm thee that thou art he who shall deliver Israel? And the quaint fancy of Gideon fell on a sheep s fleece now wet and now dry when all around it was now dry and now wet. A strange, indeed a fantastic, request to make of God. But, all the same, Gideon made it and got it. Is there humour in the divine mind? asked one of his congenial students at Dr. Duncan, instancing, at the same time, what looked to him like some examples of something not unlike humour both in creation and in providence. It s true and it s not true, was the old doctor s answer. And God did so that night; for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground. You have the whole story from a pen that ennobles and idealises all that it touches. But you may not have read this addition from another pen, that Gideon’s mother took that so versatile fleece of his, and cut it out, and sewed it up with her own hands into a soldier s mantle for her elect son: a mantle which he wore under his armour and next his heart in all his after-battles; and his men always witnessed that Gideon with his fleece on was full of hope when they were full of despair; and Again, that he was full of a good captain s caution and forethought when they would have gone headlong to their own destruction. How often I wish with all the world that Pascal had been spared to develop his Thoughts and finish his Apology. What lessons I could then have read you out of Gideon s wonderful fleece! Pascal must have had something great in his mind about Gideon, for we see him taking down Gideon s name in his notebook again and again. But, as we know, Pascal did not live to digest his rich notebook into the great book of his life.
But it is time to come to Gideon s three hundred Ironsides, so to call them. Not a man of Colonel Cromwell s soldiers swears but he pays his twelve-pence. No drinking, no disorders, no plundering, no impiety permitted. They were men that had the fear of God in them, and that made them put away all other fear. Truly they were never beaten at all, boasted their colonel. My troops increase, he wrote to his friend, Oliver St. John. I have a lovely company ; you would respect them did you know them. They are no anabaptists. They are honest, sober, Christian me ; and they expect to be used like men. The result was I raised such men as had the fear of God before them; such men as made conscience of what they did; and from that day forward they were never beaten, but wherever they were engaged against the enemy they beat continually. And truly this is matter of praise to God, and it hath some instruction in it. You see, then, what an Ironside was. An Ironside was a soldier whose whole soul was ribbed and plated all round with sound morals and true religion. Colonel Cromwell s Ironsides were that, and so were Judge Gideon’s. And Gideon s three hundred has still some instruction in it, as Cromwell says. And one of these instructions is this, that three hundred good and true men are far better for a great campaign of truth and righteousness than ten thousand men swept together by chance conscription, or picked up for a shilling a head in a public-house. The men are too many, said the Lord to Gideon. And the Lord took one of Gideon s own original and characteristic ways of weeding out that army of deliverance. The day was hot, and the ten thousand came to a river on their march. Their fathers in leaving Egypt had eaten their last supper without taking off their hats or their shoes. They ate that memorable supper standing, with a piece of the Passover lamb in one hand and with their staff in the other.
And three hundred of Gideon’s men out of the ten thousand remembered that supper that day, and they swore to themselves and to one another that they would not sit down to eat bread at a table, nor so much as lie down to drink water out of a river, so long as there was a single Midianite left alive in the land. And thus it was that without even taking off their helmets, the three hundred wet their lips out of the hollow of their hand, and were back again that moment in their unbroken ranks. As for Gideon, the dew glistening on his mother s mantle was water enough for him that day. Alexander, being parched with thirst in the desert, took the helmet full of water, but perceiving that the men of arms that were about him did thrust out their necks to look upon this water, he gave it back again unto them that had given it unto him, and thanked them, but drank none of it. For, said he, if I drink alone all these men here will faint. And what wonder if his men began to spur their horses, saying that they were not weary nor athirst, nor did think themselves mortal as long as they had such a king. And all the best work and all the best warfare of the world is done still as it was done in Manasseh and in Macedonia; it is done by those men who are more intent on their work than on their wages : who think more about their armour than about their rations: who eat less that they may work more: and who lap up a mouthful and lose not a moment as they dash on to meet the enemy away past every running water.
But time would fail me to tell you all about Gideon: all about his battles, and all about his victories: about how he behaved himself in battle, and how he bore himself in victory. Like the Ironsides of England, the Ironsides of Israel said to their captain, Rule thou over us, for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. But Gideon said, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord only shall rule over you. And had Gideon only stopped there, what a noble name, and what a blameless name Gideon s name would have been to us to this day ! But : The grey-hair d saint may fail at last,
The surest guide a wanderer prove ;
Death only binds us fast
To the bright shore of love.
I have seen
The thorn frown rudely all the winter long,
And after bear the rose upon its top ;
And bark, that all the way across the sea
Ran straight and speedy, perish at the last,
E en in the haven s mouth.
And Gideon was that grey-haired saint ; that sure
guide ; he was that straight and speedy bark.
Rule thou over us, said all the soldiers and all the people. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you. But, he went on and as he went on the devil entered into Gideon and he went on I would desire a request of you that you would give me every man the earrings of his prey. And Gideon made an ephod of the earrings and put it in his city, even in Ophra; and all Israel went a-whoring after it, which thing became a snare to Gideon, and to all his house. It must have been the very devil himself. There is no other way of accounting for this terrible catastrophe. The devil has seldom since his first success had such another success over God and God s servants as he had in Gideon s awful fall. For Gideon, when he died, and long before he died, left Israel very much where he had found her when he cut down his father”s unclean grove and overthrew his father s lewd altar. Gideon left Israel under the heel of her oppressors; or if not that just yet, then fast and sure on the way to that. Gideon’s great mistake, Gideon’s great crime, Gideon’s great sin, and Satan’s great triumph over Gideon all arose out of this, that all through his magnificent life of service, in Paul’s words, the law of Moses, the law of God, had never entered Gideon’s heart. In Paul’s words, again, Gideon did not know what sin was. He knew suffering in plenty; but, shallow old soldier as he was, he did not know the secret of all suffering. Gideon was as ignorant as the mass of you are what God s law really is, what sin really is, and what the only cure of sin really is. At bottom, and in New Testament words, that was Gideon s fall. And accordingly Gideon made a mock ephod at Ophra, while all the time God had made a true and sure ephod both for Himself and for Gideon and for all Israel at Shiloh. And God s ephod had an altar connected with it, and a sacrifice for sin, and the blood of sprinkling, and the pardon of sin, and a clean heart, and a new life; all of which Israel so much needed, but all of which Gideon, with all his high services, knew nothing about.
Sin was the cause of all the evil that Gideon in his bravery had all his life been battling with; but, instead of going himself, and taking all his Ironsides and all his people up with him to God s house against sin, Gideon set up a sham house of God of his own, and a sham service of God of his own, with the result to himself and to Israel that the sacred writer puts in such plain words. Think of Gideon, of all men in Israel, leading all Israel a-whoring away from God! The pleasure-loving people came up to Gideon’s pleasure-giving ephod, when both he and they should have gone to God s penitential ephod. They forgot all about the Midianites as they came up to Ophra to eat and to drink and to dance. Whereas, had they been well and wisely led, they would have gone to Shiloh with the Midianites ever before them, till the God of Israel would have kept the Midianites and all their other enemies for ever away from them. Gideon was a splendid soldier, but he was a very short-sighted priest. He put on a costly ephod indeed, but it takes a great deal more than a costly ephod to make a prevailing priest. Gideon could hew down the enemies of Israel by the thousand; but, all the time, he was doing absolutely nothing to heal the real hurt of the daughter of his people. Gideon could not possibly heal that hurt as long as he did not know what it was nor where it lay.
Your time would not wait for me to make all the application. But, surely, there can be no need ; if you have half an eye in your head you must long before now have made the application for yourself. I see, and you must see, men every day who are as brave and as bold as Gideon, and as full of anger and revenge against all the wrongs and all the miseries of their fellow-men; men and women who take their lives in their hands to do battle with ignorance and vice and all the other evils that the land lies under: and, all the time, they go on repeating Gideon s fatal mistake; till, at the end of their life, they leave all these wrongs and miseries very much as they found them: nothing better, but rather worse. And all because they set up an ephod of their own devising in the place of the ephod and the altar and the sacrifice and the intercession that God has set up for these and all other evils. They say, and in their goodness of heart they do far more than merely say, What shall the poor eat, and what shall they drink, and how shall they be housed? At great cost to themselves they put better houses for the working classes, and places of refreshment and amusement, and reading-rooms, and libraries, and baths, and open spaces, and secular schools and still more secular churches in the room of the cross and the church and the gospel of Jesus Christ; and they complain that the Midianites do not remove but come back faster than they can chase them out. But, as Joash or Gideon might have said in one of their humorous moments, all these things are so many apothecary’s pills to protect a man from the earthquake. Only, there is much more fitness and sense and likelihood in the mountebank prescription than there is in all your costly but unchristian ephods. Either the cross of Christ was an excess and a superfluity, or your expensive maladroit nostrums for sin are an insult to Him and to His cross. … It only remains to say that from that day on which Gideon put on his ephod of earrings, his mantle which his mother made ceased to move on his bosom and to speak to his heart. From that day his mantle was no longer the miraculous fleece of his great days of victory; from that day and thenceforth it was only the dead skin of a dead sheep.

Hymn for Today:
“I Want a Principle Within” by Charles Wesley, 1707-1788
1. I want a principle within
of watchful, godly fear,
a sensibility of sin,
a pain to feel it near.
I want the first approach to feel
of pride or wrong desire,
to catch the wandering of my will,
and quench the kindling fire.
2. From thee that I no more may stray,
no more thy goodness grieve,
grant me the filial awe, I pray,
the tender conscience give.
Quick as the apple of an eye,
O God, my conscience make;
awake my soul when sin is nigh,
and keep it still awake.
3. Almighty God of truth and love,
to me thy power impart;
the mountain from my soul remove,
the hardness from my heart.
O may the least omission pain
my reawakened soul,
and drive me to that blood again,
which makes the wounded whole.

Through the Bible in One Year:
Deuteronomy 11 to 20
1 ‘You must love Yahweh your God and always keep his observances, his laws, his customs, his commandments.
2 You are the ones who have had the experience, not your children. They have not had the experience, they have not witnessed the lessons of Yahweh your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm,
3 the signs and the deeds which he performed in the heart of Egypt, against Pharaoh king of Egypt and his entire country,
4 what he did to the armies of Egypt, to their horses and their chariots, by overwhelming them with the waters of the Sea of Reeds when they were pursuing you, and leaving no trace of them to this day;
5 what he did for you in the desert, until you arrived here;
6 what he did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when, with all Israel standing round, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their families, their tents and all their supporters.
7 All these great deeds of Yahweh you have seen with your own eyes.
8 ‘You must keep all the commandments which I enjoin on you today, so that you may have the strength to conquer the country into which you are about to cross, to take possession of it,
9 and so that you may live long in the country which Yahweh promised on oath to bestow on your ancestors and their descendants, a country flowing with milk and honey.
10 ‘For the country which you are about to enter and make your own is not like the country of Egypt from which you have come, where, having done your sowing, you had to water the seed by foot, as though in a vegetable garden.
11 No, the country which you are about to enter and make your own, is a country of hills and valleys watered by the rain of heaven.
12 Yahweh your God looks after this country, the eyes of Yahweh your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the end.
13 Depend on it: if you faithfully obey the commandments I enjoin on you today, loving Yahweh your God and serving him with all your heart and all your soul,
14 I shall give your country rain at the right time, rain in autumn, rain in spring, so that you can harvest your wheat, your new wine and your oil.
15 I shall provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat to your heart’s content.
16 Beware of letting your heart be seduced: if you go astray, serve other gods and bow down to them,
17 Yahweh’s anger will be kindled against you, he will shut the heavens, there will be no more rain, the soil will not yield its produce and, in the fine country given you by Yahweh, you will quickly perish.
18 ‘Let these words of mine remain in your heart and in your soul; fasten them on your hand as a sign and on your forehead as a headband.
19 Teach them to your children, and keep on telling them, when you are sitting at home, when you are out and about, when you are lying down and when you are standing up.
20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,
21 so that you and your children may live long in the country which Yahweh swore to your ancestors that he would give them for as long as there is a sky above the earth.
22 ‘For if you faithfully keep and observe all these commandments that I enjoin on you today, loving Yahweh your God, following all his ways and holding fast to him,
23 Yahweh will dispossess all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and more powerful than yourselves.
24 Wherever the sole of your foot treads will be yours; your territory will run from the desert all the way to the Lebanon; and from the River, from the River Euphrates, as far as the Western Sea, will be your territory.
25 No one will be able to resist you; Yahweh your God will make you feared and dreaded throughout the territory you tread, as he has promised you.
26 ‘Today, look, I am offering you a blessing and a curse:
27 a blessing, if you obey the commandments of Yahweh your God which I enjoin on you today;
28 a curse, if you disobey the commandments of Yahweh your God and leave the way which today I have marked out for you, by following other gods hitherto unknown to you.
29 And when Yahweh your God has brought you into the country which you are about to enter and make your own, you must set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.
30 (These mountains, as everyone knows, are on the other side of the Jordan on the westward road, in the territory of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, near the Oak of Moreh.)
31 For you are about to cross the Jordan, to enter and take possession of the country given you by Yahweh your God. You will possess it, you will live in it,
32 and you must keep and observe all the laws and customs promulgated by me to you today.’
1 ‘Now, these are the laws and customs which you must keep in the country which Yahweh, God of your ancestors, is giving you as yours, and which you must observe every day that you live in that country.
2 ‘You must completely destroy all the places where the nations you dispossess have served their gods, on high mountains, on hills, under any spreading tree;
3 you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, burn their sacred poles, hack to bits the statues of their gods and obliterate their name from that place.
4 ‘Not so must you behave towards Yahweh your God.
5 You must seek Yahweh your God in the place which he will choose from all your tribes, there to set his name and give it a home: that is where you must go.
6 That is where you must bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and offerings held high, your votive offerings and your voluntary offerings, and the first-born of your herd and flock;
7 and that is where you must eat in the presence of Yahweh your God, rejoicing over your labours, you and your households, because Yahweh your God has blessed you.
8 ‘You must not behave as we are behaving here today, each of you doing what he himself sees fit,
9 since you have not yet come to the resting place and the heritage that Yahweh your God is going to give you.
10 You are about to cross the Jordan and live in the country given you by Yahweh your God as your heritage; he will grant you peace from all the enemies surrounding you, and you will live in safety.
11 To the place chosen by Yahweh your God as a home for his name, to that place you must bring all the things that I am laying down for you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and offerings held high, and all the best of your possessions dedicated by you to Yahweh.
12 That is where you will rejoice in the presence of Yahweh your God, you and your sons and daughters, your serving men and women, and the Levite living in your community since he has no share or heritage of his own among you.
13 ‘Take care you do not offer your burnt offerings in all the sacred places you see;
14 only in the place that Yahweh chooses in one of your tribes may you offer your burnt offerings and do all the things which I have commanded you.
15 ‘This notwithstanding, and whenever you wish, you may slaughter and eat meat wherever you live — as much as the blessing of Yahweh affords you. Clean or unclean may eat it, as though it were gazelle or deer.
16 You will not, however, eat the blood, but will pour that like water on the ground.
17 ‘You must not eat the tithe of your wheat, of your new wine or of your oil, or the first-born of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings or voluntary offerings, or your offerings held high to Yahweh, at home.
18 You must eat these in the presence of Yahweh your God in the place Yahweh your God chooses and there alone, you, your son and your daughter, your serving man and serving woman, and the Levite living in your community, expressing your joy in all your labours in the presence of Yahweh your God.
19 As long as you live on your soil, be careful not to neglect the Levite.
20 ‘When Yahweh your God enlarges your territory as he has promised you, and you say, “I should like to eat meat,” if you want to eat meat you may eat as much as you like.
21 If the place in which Yahweh your God chooses to set his name is too far away, you may slaughter any of your herd or flock that Yahweh has given you, as I have prescribed for you; you may eat as much of it as you please at home.
22 But you must eat it as you would gazelle or deer; clean and unclean may eat it together.
23 Take care, however, not to eat the blood, since blood is life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
24 You must not eat it, but must pour it like water on the ground.
25 You must not eat it — so that you, and your children after you, may prosper, doing what is right in Yahweh’s eyes.
26 But the holy things of yours and the things which you have dedicated, you must go and take to the place chosen by Yahweh.
27 The burnt offerings of meat and blood must be presented on the altar of Yahweh your God; whereas, in your sacrifices, the blood must be poured on the altar of Yahweh your God; the meat you yourselves may eat.
28 Faithfully keep and obey all these orders which I am giving you, so that you and your children after you may prosper for ever, doing what is good and right in the eyes of Yahweh your God.
29 ‘When Yahweh your God has annihilated the nations confronting you, whom you are going to dispossess, and when you have dispossessed them and made your home in their country,
30 beware of being entrapped into copying them, after they have been destroyed to make way for you, and do not enquire about their gods, saying, “How did these nations worship their gods? I am going to do the same too.”
31 This is not the way to treat Yahweh your God. For in honour of their gods they have done everything detestable that Yahweh hates; yes, in honour of their gods, they even burn their own sons and daughters as sacrifices!’
1 ‘Whatever I am now commanding you, you must keep and observe, adding nothing to it, taking nothing away.
2 ‘If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you, offering you some sign or wonder,
3 and the sign or wonder comes about; and if he then says to you, “Let us follow other gods (hitherto unknown to you) and serve them,”
4 you must not listen to that prophet’s words or to that dreamer’s dreams. Yahweh your God is testing you to know if you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and all your soul.
5 Yahweh your God is the one whom you must follow, him you must fear, his commandments you must keep, his voice you must obey, him you must serve, to him you must hold fast.
6 That prophet or that dreamer of dreams must be put to death, since he has preached apostasy from Yahweh your God who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slave-labour; and he would have diverted you from the way in which Yahweh your God has commanded you to walk. You must banish this evil from among you.
7 ‘If your brother, the son of your father or of your mother, or your son or daughter, or the spouse whom you embrace, or your most intimate friend, tries secretly to seduce you, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods,” unknown to you or your ancestors before you,
8 gods of the peoples surrounding you, whether near you or far away, anywhere throughout the world,
9 you must not consent, you must not listen to him; you must show him no pity, you must not spare him or conceal his guilt.
10 No, you must kill him, your hand must strike the first blow in putting him to death and the hands of the rest of the people following.
11 You must stone him to death, since he has tried to divert you from Yahweh your God who brought you out of Egypt, from the place of slave-labour.
12 All Israel, hearing of this, will be afraid, and none of you will do such a wicked thing again.
13 ‘If you hear that in one of the towns which Yahweh your God has given you for a home,
14 there are men, scoundrels from your own stock, who have led their fellow-citizens astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods,” hitherto unknown to you,
15 it is your duty to look into the matter, examine it, and enquire most carefully. If it is proved and confirmed that such a hateful thing has taken place among you,
16 you must put the inhabitants of that town to the sword; you must lay it under the curse of destruction — the town and everything in it.
17 You must pile up all its loot in the public square and burn the town and all its loot, offering it all to Yahweh your God. It is to be a ruin for all time, and never rebuilt.
18 From what is thus put under the curse of destruction you must keep nothing back, so that Yahweh may turn from the ferocity of his anger and show you mercy, and have pity on you and increase your numbers, as he swore he would to your ancestors,
19 on condition that you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God by keeping all his commandments which I am enjoining on you today, and by doing what is right in the eyes of Yahweh your God.’
1 ‘You are children of Yahweh your God. You must not gash yourselves or shave your foreheads for the dead.
2 For you are a people consecrated to Yahweh your God, and Yahweh has chosen you to be his own people from all the peoples on the earth.
3 ‘You must not eat anything disgusting.
4 These are the animals you may eat: ox, sheep, goat,
5 deer, gazelle, roebuck, ibex, antelope, oryx, mountain sheep.
6 You may eat any animal that has a divided and cloven hoof and that is a ruminant.
7 Of those, however, that are ruminants and of those that have a divided and cloven hoof you may not eat the following: the camel, the hare and the coney, which are ruminants but have no cloven hoof; you must class them as unclean.
8 So also the pig, which though it has a cloven hoof is not a ruminant; you must class it as unclean. You must neither eat the meat of such animals nor touch their dead bodies.
9 ‘Of whatever lives in water you may eat the following: you may eat anything that has fins and scales.
10 But you must not eat anything without fins and scales: you must class it as unclean.
11 ‘You may eat all clean birds,
12 but the following birds you must not eat: the tawny vulture, the griffon, the osprey,
13 the kite and the several kinds of buzzard,
14 all kinds of raven,
15 the ostrich, the screech owl, the seagull, the several kinds of hawk,
16 owl, barn owl, ibis,
17 pelican, white vulture, cormorant,
18 stork, the several kinds of heron, hoopoe and bat.
19 You are to class all winged insects as unclean and must not eat them.
20 You may eat any clean fowl.
21 ‘You must not eat any animal that has died a natural death. You may give it to a resident foreigner to eat, or sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people consecrated to Yahweh your God. ‘You must not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.
22 ‘Every year, you must take a tithe of what your fields produce from what you have sown
23 and, in the presence of Yahweh your God, in the place where he chooses to give his name a home, you must eat the tithe of your wheat, of your new wine and of your oil, and the first-born of your herd and flock; and by so doing, you will learn always to fear Yahweh your God.
24 ‘If the road is too long for you, if you cannot bring your tithe because the place in which Yahweh chooses to make a home for his name is too far away, when Yahweh your God has blessed you,
25 you must convert it into money and, with the money clasped in your hand, you must go to the place chosen by Yahweh your God;
26 there you may spend the money on whatever you like, oxen, sheep, wine, fermented liquor, anything you please. There you must eat in the presence of Yahweh your God and rejoice, you and your household.
27 Do not neglect the Levite living in your community, since he has no share or heritage of his own among you.
28 ‘At the end of every three years, you must take all the tithes of your harvests for that year and collect them in your community.
29 Then the Levite — since he has no share or heritage of his own among you — the foreigner, the orphan and the widow living in your community, will come and eat all they want. And so Yahweh your God will bless you in all the labours that you undertake.’
1 ‘At the end of every seven years, you must grant remission.
2 The nature of the remission is as follows: any creditor holding a personal pledge obtained from his fellow must release him from it; he must not exploit his fellow or his brother once the latter has appealed to Yahweh for remission.
3 A foreigner you may exploit, but you must remit whatever claim you have on your brother.
4 There must, then, be no poor among you. For Yahweh will grant you his blessing in the country which Yahweh your God is giving you to possess as your heritage,
5 only if you pay careful attention to the voice of Yahweh your God, by keeping and practising all these commandments which I am enjoining on you today.
6 If Yahweh your God blesses you as he has promised, you will be creditors to many nations but debtors to none; you will rule over many nations, and be ruled by none.
7 ‘Is there anyone poor among you, one of your brothers, in any town of yours in the country which Yahweh your God is giving you? Do not harden your heart or close your hand against that poor brother of yours,
8 but be open handed with him and lend him enough for his needs.
9 Do not allow this mean thought in your heart, “The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,” and scowl at your poor brother and give him nothing; he could appeal against you to Yahweh, and you would incur guilt!
10 When you give to him, you must give with an open heart; for this, Yahweh your God will bless you in all your actions and in all your undertakings.
11 Of course, there will never cease to be poor people in the country, and that is why I am giving you this command: Always be open handed with your brother, and with anyone in your country who is in need and poor.
12 ‘If your fellow Hebrew, man or woman, sells himself to you, he can serve you for six years. In the seventh year you must set him free,
13 and in setting him free you must not let him go empty handed.
14 By way of present, you will load his shoulders with things from your flock, from your threshing-floor and from your winepress; as Yahweh your God has blessed you, so you must give to him.
15 Remember that you were once a slave in Egypt and that Yahweh your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this order today.
16 ‘But if he says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your household and is happy with you,
17 you must take an awl and drive it through his ear into the door and he will be your servant for ever. You must do the same to a female slave.
18 ‘Do not think it hard on you to have to give him his freedom; he is worth twice what a paid servant would cost you, and has served you for six years. And Yahweh your God will bless you in everything you do.
19 ‘You must consecrate every first-born male from your herd and flock to Yahweh your God. You must not put the first-born of your herd to work, or shear the first-born of your flock.
20 You must eat it, you and your household, each year, in the presence of Yahweh your God, in the place which Yahweh chooses.
21 If it has any defect, if it is lame or blind — any serious defect — you must not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God.
22 You will eat it at home, unclean and clean together, as you would gazelle or deer;
23 only, you will not eat its blood, but pour that like water on the ground.’
1 ‘Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover for Yahweh your God, because it was in the month of Abib that Yahweh your God brought you out of Egypt by night.
2 You must sacrifice a Passover from your flock or herd for Yahweh your God in the place where Yahweh chooses to give his name a home.
3 You must not eat leavened bread with this; for seven days you must eat it with unleavened bread — the bread of affliction — since you left Egypt in great haste; this is so that, as long as you live, you will remember the day you came out of Egypt.
4 For seven days no leaven must be found in any house throughout your territory, nor must any of the meat that you sacrifice in the evening of the first day be kept overnight until the next day.
5 You must sacrifice the Passover not in any of the towns given you by Yahweh your God,
6 but in the place where Yahweh your God chooses to give his name a home; there you must sacrifice the Passover, in the evening at sunset, at the hour when you came out of Egypt.
7 You will cook it and eat it in the place chosen by Yahweh your God, and in the morning you must return and go to your tents.
8 For six days you will eat unleavened bread; on the seventh day there will be an assembly for Yahweh your God; and you must do no work.
9 ‘You must count seven weeks, counting these seven weeks from the time you begin to put your sickle into the standing corn.
10 You will then celebrate the feast of Weeks for Yahweh your God with the gift of a voluntary offering proportionate to the degree in which Yahweh your God has blessed you.
11 You must rejoice in the presence of Yahweh your God, in the place where Yahweh your God chooses to give his name a home, you, your son and your daughter, your serving men and women, the Levite living in your community, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow living among you.
12 Remember that you were once a slave in Egypt, and carefully observe these laws.
13 ‘You must celebrate the feast of Shelters for seven days, at the time when you gather in the produce of your threshing-floor and winepress.
14 You must rejoice at your feast, you, your son and your daughter, your serving men and women, the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow living in your community.
15 For seven days, you must celebrate the feast for Yahweh your God in the place chosen by Yahweh; for Yahweh your God will bless you in all your produce and in all your undertakings, so that you will have good reason to rejoice.
16 ‘Three times a year all your menfolk must appear before Yahweh your God in the place chosen by him: at the feast of Unleavened Bread, at the feast of Weeks, at the feast of Shelters. No one must appear empty-handed before Yahweh,
17 but each must give what he can, in proportion to the blessing which Yahweh your God has bestowed on you.
18 ‘You must appoint judges and scribes in each of the towns that Yahweh your God is giving you, for all your tribes; these are to mete out proper justice to the people.
19 You must not pervert the law; you must be impartial; you will take no bribes, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and ruins the cause of the upright.
20 Strict justice must be your ideal, so that you may live long in possession of the country given you by Yahweh your God.
21 ‘You must not plant a sacred pole of any wood whatsoever beside the altar which you erect for Yahweh your God;
22 nor will you set up a standing-stone, a thing Yahweh your God would abhor.’
1 ‘To Yahweh your God you must sacrifice nothing from herd or flock that has any blemish or defect whatsoever, for Yahweh your God holds this detestable.
2 ‘If there is anyone, man or woman, among you in any of the towns given you by Yahweh your God, who does what is wrong in the eyes of Yahweh your God by violating his covenant,
3 who goes and serves other gods and worships them, or the sun or the moon or any of heaven’s array — a thing I have forbidden-
4 and this person is denounced to you: if after careful enquiry it is found true and confirmed that this hateful thing has been done in Israel,
5 you must take the man or woman guilty of this evil deed outside your city gates, and there you must stone that man or woman to death.
6 A death sentence may be passed only on the word of two witnesses or three; and no one must be put to death on the word of one witness alone.
7 The witnesses’ hands must strike the first blow in putting the condemned to death, the rest of the people following. You must banish this evil from among you.
8 ‘If a case comes before you which is too difficult for you, a case of murder, conflicting claims, damage to property — any kind of dispute — in your towns, you must make your way to the place chosen by Yahweh your God,
9 and approach the levitical priests and the judge then in office. They will hold an enquiry and let you know their sentence.
10 You must abide by the verdict which they give you in this place chosen by Yahweh, and you will take care to carry out all their instructions.
11 You will abide by the decision which they give you and by the sentence which they pronounce, not deviating to right or to left from the verdict which they have given you.
12 If anyone presumes to disobey either the priest who is there in the service of Yahweh your God, or the judge, that person must die. You must banish this evil from Israel.
13 And when the people hear of this they will all be afraid and not act presumptuously any more.
14 ‘If, having reached the country given by Yahweh your God and having taken possession of it and, while living there, you think, “I should like to appoint a king to rule me — like all the surrounding nations,”
15 the king whom you appoint to rule you must be chosen by Yahweh your God; the appointment of a king must be made from your own brothers; on no account must you appoint as king some foreigner who is not a brother of yours.
16 ‘He must not, however, acquire more and more horses, or send the people back to Egypt with a view to increasing his cavalry, since Yahweh has told you, “You must never go back that way again.”
17 Nor must he keep on acquiring more and more wives, for that could lead his heart astray. Nor must he acquire vast quantities of silver and gold.
18 Once seated on his royal throne, and for his own use, he must write a copy of this Law on a scroll, at the dictation of the levitical priests.
19 It must never leave him, and he must read it every day of his life and learn to fear Yahweh his God by keeping all the words of this Law and observing these rules,
20 so that he will not think himself superior to his brothers, and not deviate from these commandments either to right or to left. So doing, long will he occupy his throne, he and his sons, in Israel.’
1 ‘The levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi will be without share or heritage of their own in Israel; they will live on the foods offered to Yahweh and on his heritage.
2 Levi will have no heritage of his own among his brothers; Yahweh will be his heritage, as he has promised him.
3 ‘This is what is due to the priests from the people, from those who offer an ox or a sheep in sacrifice: the priest must be given the shoulder, the cheeks and the stomach.
4 You must give him the first-fruits of your wheat, of your new wine and of your oil, as well as the first-fruits of your sheep-shearing.
5 For Yahweh your God has chosen him from all your tribes to stand before Yahweh your God, to do the duties of the sacred ministry, and to bless in Yahweh’s name — him and his sons for all time.
6 ‘If a Levite living in one of your towns anywhere in Israel decides to move to the place chosen by Yahweh,
7 he shall minister there in the name of Yahweh his God like all his fellow Levites who stand ministering there in the presence of Yahweh,
8 eating equal shares with them — what he has from the sale of his patrimony notwithstanding.
9 ‘When you have entered the country given you by Yahweh your God, you must not learn to imitate the detestable practices of the nations there already.
10 There must never be anyone among you who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire of sacrifice, who practises divination, who is soothsayer, augur or sorcerer,
11 weaver of spells, consulter of ghosts or mediums, or necromancer.
12 For anyone who does these things is detestable to Yahweh your God; it is because of these detestable practices that Yahweh your God is driving out these nations before you.
13 ‘You must be faultless in your relationship with Yahweh your God.
14 For these nations whom you are going to dispossess have listened to soothsayers and mediums, but Yahweh your God does not permit you to do this. From among yourselves, from among your own brothers,
15 Yahweh your God will raise up a prophet like me; you will listen to him.
16 This is exactly what you asked Yahweh your God to do — at Horeb, on the day of the Assembly, when you said, “Never let me hear the voice of Yahweh my God or see this great fire again, or I shall die.”
17 Then Yahweh said to me,
18 “What they have said is well said. From their own brothers I shall raise up a prophet like yourself;
19 I shall put my words into his mouth and he will tell them everything I command him. Anyone who refuses to listen to my words, spoken by him in my name, will have to render an account to me.
20 But the prophet who presumes to say something in my name which I have not commanded him to say, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die.”
21 ‘You may be privately wondering, “How are we to tell that a prophecy does not come from Yahweh?”
22 When a prophet speaks in the name of Yahweh and the thing does not happen and the word is not fulfilled, then it has not been said by Yahweh. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. You have nothing to fear from him.’
1 ‘When Yahweh your God has annihilated the nations whose country Yahweh your God is going to give you, and you have dispossessed them and are living in their towns and in their houses,
2 you must set aside three towns, centrally placed in the country which Yahweh your God is giving you for your own.
3 You will keep the approaches to them in good order, dividing the area of the country which Yahweh your God is giving you as your heritage, into three parts, so that any killer can flee to these towns.
4 Here is an example of how someone may save his life by fleeing to them. ‘If anyone has struck his fellow accidentally, without any previous feud with him
5 (for example, he goes with his fellow into the forest to cut wood; his arm swings the axe to fell a tree; the head slips off the handle and strikes his companion dead), that man may take refuge in one of these towns and save his life.
6 It must not be allowed that the avenger of blood, in the heat of his anger, should pursue the killer and that the length of the road should help him to overtake and wound him fatally; for the man has not deserved to die, having had no previous feud with his victim.
7 ‘Hence I am giving you this order: You must set aside three towns,
8 and if Yahweh your God enlarges your territory, as he swore to your ancestors that he would, and gives you the whole country which he promised to give to your ancestors-
9 provided that you keep and observe all the commandments which I am enjoining on you today, loving Yahweh your God and always following his ways-then, to those three towns you will add three more.
10 In this way, innocent blood will not be shed in the country which Yahweh your God is going to give you as your heritage; otherwise you would incur blood-guilt.
11 ‘But if it happens that a man has a feud with his fellow and lies in wait for him and attacks him and fatally wounds him and he dies, and the man takes refuge in one of these towns,
12 the elders of his own town must send there and have him taken and handed over to the avenger of blood, to be put to death.
13 You must show him no pity. You must banish the shedding of innocent blood from Israel, and then you will prosper.
14 ‘You must not displace your neighbour’s boundary mark, positioned by men of old in the heritage soon to be yours, in the country which Yahweh your God is about to give you.
15 ‘A single witness will not suffice to convict anyone of a crime or offence of any kind; whatever the misdemeanour, the evidence of two witnesses or three is required to sustain the charge.
16 ‘If someone gives false evidence against anyone, laying a charge of apostasy,
17 both parties to this dispute before Yahweh must appear before the priests and judges then in office.
18 The judges will make a careful enquiry, and if it turns out that the witness is a liar and has made a false accusation against his brother,
19 you must treat the witness as he would have treated his brother. You must banish this evil from among you.
20 The rest, hearing of this, will be afraid and never again do such an evil thing among you.
21 You must show no pity. ‘Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.’
1 ‘When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, you must not be afraid of them; Yahweh your God is with you, he who brought you out of Egypt.
2 When you are about to join battle, the priest must come forward and address the people.
3 He must say to them, “Listen, Israel: today you are about to join battle with your enemies. Do not be faint hearted. Let there be no fear or trembling or alarm as you face them.
4 Yahweh your God is marching with you, to fight your enemies for you and make you victorious.”
5 ‘The scribes will then address the people, as follows: “Has anyone built a new house and not yet dedicated it? Let him go home, in case he dies in battle and someone else performs the dedication.
6 “Has anyone planted a vineyard and not yet enjoyed its fruit? Let him go home, in case he dies in battle and someone else enjoys its fruit.
7 “Has anyone contracted to marry a girl and not yet married her? Let him go home, in case he dies in battle and someone else marries her.”
8 ‘Finally, the scribes will say to the people: “Is anyone frightened or faint hearted? Let him go home, in case he makes his brothers faint hearted too!”
9 ‘Then, when the scribes have finished speaking to the people, commanders will be appointed to lead them.
10 ‘When you advance on a town to attack it, first offer it peace-terms.
11 If it accepts these and opens its gates to you, all the people inside will owe you forced labour and work for you.
12 But if it refuses peace and gives battle, you must besiege it.
13 Yahweh your God having handed it over to you, you will put the whole male population to the sword.
14 But the women, children, livestock and whatever the town contains by way of spoil, you may take for yourselves as booty. You will feed on the spoils of the enemies whom Yahweh your God has handed over to you.
15 ‘That is how you will treat towns far away and not belonging to the nations near you.
16 But as regards the towns of those peoples whom Yahweh your God is giving you as your heritage, you must not spare the life of any living thing.
17 Instead, you must lay them under the curse of destruction: Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, as Yahweh your God has commanded,
18 so that they may not teach you to do all the detestable things which they do to honour their gods: in doing these, you would sin against Yahweh your God.
19 ‘If, when attacking a town, you have to besiege it for a long time before you capture it, you must not destroy its trees by taking the axe to them: eat their fruit but do not cut them down. Is the tree in the fields human, that you should besiege it too?
20 Any trees, however, which you know are not fruit trees, you may destroy and cut down and use to build siege-works against the hostile town until it falls.’(New Jerusalem Bible)

Daily Office for Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Psalm 38
1 [Psalm Of David In commemoration] Yahweh, do not correct me in anger, do not discipline me in wrath.
2 For your arrows have pierced deep into me, your hand has pressed down upon me.
3 Your indignation has left no part of me unscathed, my sin has left no health in my bones.
4 My sins stand higher than my head, they weigh on me as an unbearable weight.
5 I have stinking, festering wounds, thanks to my folly.
6 I am twisted and bent double, I spend my days in gloom.
7 My loins burn with fever, no part of me is unscathed.
8 Numbed and utterly crushed I groan in distress of heart.
9 Lord, all my longing is known to you, my sighing no secret from you,
10 my heart is throbbing, my strength has failed, the light has gone out of my eyes.
11 Friends and companions shun my disease, even the dearest of them keep their distance.
12 Those with designs on my life lay snares, those who wish me ill speak of violence and hatch treachery all day long.
13 But I hear nothing, as though I were deaf, as though dumb, saying not a word.
14 I am like the one who, hearing nothing, has no sharp answer to make.
15 For in you, Yahweh, I put my hope, you, Lord my God, will give answer.
16 I said, ‘Never let them gloat over me, do not let them take advantage of me if my foot slips.’
17 There is no escape for me from falling, no relief from my misery.
18 But I make no secret of my guilt, I am anxious at the thought of my sin.
19 There is no numbering those who oppose me without cause, no counting those who hate me unprovoked,
20 repaying me evil for good, slandering me for trying to do them good.
21 Yahweh, do not desert me, my God, do not stand aloof from me.
22 Come quickly to my help, Lord, my Saviour!(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 119:25-48
25 Down in the dust I lie prostrate; true to your word, revive me.
26 I tell you my ways and you answer me; teach me your wishes.
27 Show me the way of your precepts, that I may reflect on your wonders.
28 I am melting away for grief; true to your word, raise me up.
29 Keep me far from the way of deceit, grant me the grace of your Law.
30 I have chosen the way of constancy, I have moulded myself to your judgements.
31 I cling to your instructions, Yahweh, do not disappoint me.
32 I run the way of your commandments, for you have given me freedom of heart.
33 Teach me, Yahweh, the way of your will, and I will observe it.
34 Give me understanding and I will observe your Law, and keep it wholeheartedly.
35 Guide me in the way of your commandments, for my delight is there.
36 Bend my heart to your instructions, not to selfish gain.
37 Avert my eyes from pointless images, by your word give me life.
38 Keep your promise to your servant so that all may hold you in awe.
39 Avert the taunts that I dread, for your judgements are generous.
40 See how I yearn for your precepts; in your saving justice give me life.
41 Let your faithful love come to me, Yahweh, true to your promise, save me!
42 Give me an answer to the taunts against me, since I rely on your word.
43 Do not deprive me of that faithful word, since my hope lies in your judgements.
44 I shall keep your Law without fail for ever and ever.
45 I shall live in all freedom because I have sought your precepts.
46 I shall speak of your instructions before kings and will not be shamed.
47 Your commandments fill me with delight, I love them dearly.
48 I stretch out my hands to your commandments that I love, and I ponder your judgements.)New Jerusalem Bible)
Genesis 9:18-29
18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth-Ham being the father of Canaan.
19 These three were Noah’s sons, and from these the whole earth was peopled.
20 Noah, a tiller of the soil, was the first to plant the vine.
21 He drank some of the wine, and while he was drunk, he lay uncovered in his tent.
22 Ham, father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside.
23 Shem and Japheth took a cloak and they both put it over their shoulders, and walking backwards, covered their father’s nakedness; they kept their faces turned away, and they did not look at their father naked.
24 When Noah awoke from his stupor he learned what his youngest son had done to him,
25 and said: Accursed be Canaan, he shall be his brothers’ meanest slave.
26 He added: Blessed be Yahweh, God of Shem, let Canaan be his slave!
27 May God make space for Japheth, may he live in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his slave!
28 After the flood Noah lived three hundred and fifty years.
29 In all, Noah’s life lasted nine hundred and fifty years; then he died.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Hebrews 6:1-12
1 Let us leave behind us then all the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to its completion, without going over the fundamental doctrines again: the turning away from dead actions, faith in God,
2 the teaching about baptisms and the laying — on of hands, about the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgement.
3 This, God willing, is what we propose to do.
4 As for those people who were once brought into the light, and tasted the gift from heaven, and received a share of the Holy Spirit,
5 and tasted the goodness of God’s message and the powers of the world to come
6 and yet in spite of this have fallen away — it is impossible for them to be brought to the freshness of repentance a second time, since they are crucifying the Son of God again for themselves, and making a public exhibition of him.
7 A field that drinks up the rain that has fallen frequently on it, and yields the crops that are wanted by the owners who grew them, receives God’s blessing;
8 but one that grows brambles and thistles is worthless, and near to being cursed. It will end by being burnt.
9 But you, my dear friends — in spite of what we have just said, we are sure you are in a better state and on the way to salvation.
10 God would not be so unjust as to forget all you have done, the love that you have for his name or the services you have done, and are still doing, for the holy people of God.
11 Our desire is that every one of you should go on showing the same enthusiasm till the ultimate fulfilment of your hope,
12 never growing careless, but taking as your model those who by their faith and perseverance are heirs of the promises.(New Jerusalem Bible)
John 3:22-36
22 After this, Jesus went with his disciples into the Judaean countryside and stayed with them there and baptised.
23 John also was baptising at Aenon near Salim, where there was plenty of water, and people were going there and were being baptised.
24 For John had not yet been put in prison.
25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew about purification,
26 so they went to John and said, ‘Rabbi, the man who was with you on the far side of the Jordan, the man to whom you bore witness, is baptising now, and everyone is going to him.’
27 John replied: ‘No one can have anything except what is given him from heaven.
28 ‘You yourselves can bear me out. I said, “I am not the Christ; I am the one who has been sent to go in front of him.”
29 ‘It is the bridegroom who has the bride; and yet the bridegroom’s friend, who stands there and listens to him, is filled with joy at the bridegroom’s voice. This is the joy I feel, and it is complete.
30 He must grow greater, I must grow less.
31 He who comes from above is above all others; he who is of the earth is earthly himself and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven
32 bears witness to the things he has seen and heard, but his testimony is not accepted by anybody;
33 though anyone who does accept his testimony is attesting that God is true,
34 since he whom God has sent speaks God’s own words, for God gives him the Spirit without reserve.
35 The Father loves the Son and has entrusted everything to his hands.
36 Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life, but anyone who refuses to believe in the Son will never see life: God’s retribution hangs over him.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
Confession of St. Peter:
Psalm 66
1 [For the choirmaster Song Psalm] Acclaim God, all the earth,
2 sing psalms to the glory of his name, glorify him with your praises,
3 say to God, ‘How awesome you are! ‘Your achievements are the measure of your power, your enemies woo your favour,
4 all the earth bows down before you, sings psalms to you, sings psalms to your name.’Pause
5 Come and see the marvels of God, his awesome deeds for the children of Adam:
6 he changed the sea into dry land, they crossed the river on foot. So let us rejoice in him,
7 who rules for ever by his power; his eyes keep watch on the nations to forestall rebellion against him.Pause
8 Nations, bless our God, let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he brings us to life and keeps our feet from stumbling.
10 God, you have put us to the test, refined us like silver,
11 let us fall into the net; you have put a heavy strain on our backs,
12 let men ride over our heads; but now the ordeal by fire and water is over, you have led us out to breathe again.
13 I bring burnt offerings to your house, I fulfil to you my vows,
14 the vows that rose to my lips, that I pronounced when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer you rich burnt offerings, with the smoke of burning rams. I will sacrifice to you bullocks and goats.Pause
16 Come and listen, all who fear God, while I tell what he has done for me.
17 To him I cried aloud, high praise was on my tongue.
18 Had I been aware of guilt in my heart, the Lord would not have listened,
19 but in fact God did listen, attentive to the sound of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God who has not turned away my prayer, nor his own faithful love from me.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 67
1 [For the choirmaster For strings Psalm Song] May God show kindness and bless us, and make his face shine on us.Pause
2 Then the earth will acknowledge your ways, and all nations your power to save.
3 Let the nations praise you, God, let all the nations praise you.
4 Let the nations rejoice and sing for joy, for you judge the world with justice, you judge the peoples with fairness, you guide the nations on earth.Pause
5 Let the nations praise you, God, let all the nations praise you.
6 The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God has blessed us.
7 May God continue to bless us, and be revered by the whole wide world.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Ezekiel 3:4-11
4 He then said, ‘Son of man, go to the House of Israel and tell them what I have said.
5 You are not being sent to a nation that speaks a difficult foreign language; you are being sent to the House of Israel.
6 Not to big nations that speak difficult foreign languages, and whose words you would not understand — if I sent you to them, they would listen to you;
7 but the House of Israel will not listen to you because it will not listen to me. The whole House of Israel is defiant and obstinate.
8 But now, I am making you as defiant as they are, and as obstinate as they are;
9 I am making your resolution as hard as a diamond, harder than flint. So do not be afraid of them, do not be overawed by them, for they are a tribe of rebels.’
10 Then he said, ‘Son of man, take to heart everything I say to you, listen carefully,
11 then go to your exiled countrymen and talk to them. Say to them, “Lord Yahweh says this,” whether they listen or not.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
Acts 10:34-44
34 Then Peter addressed them, ‘I now really understand’, he said, ‘that God has no favourites,
35 but that anybody of any nationality who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
36 ‘God sent his word to the people of Israel, and it was to them that the good news of peace was brought by Jesus Christ — he is the Lord of all.
37 You know what happened all over Judaea, how Jesus of Nazareth began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism.
38 God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil.
39 Now we are witnesses to everything he did throughout the countryside of Judaea and in Jerusalem itself: and they killed him by hanging him on a tree,
40 yet on the third day God raised him to life and allowed him to be seen,
41 not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses that God had chosen beforehand. Now we are those witnesses — we have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead-
42 and he has ordered us to proclaim this to his people and to bear witness that God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead.
43 It is to him that all the prophets bear this witness: that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.’
44 While Peter was still speaking the Holy Spirit came down on all the listeners.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 118
1 Alleluia! Give thanks to Yahweh for he is good, for his faithful love endures for ever.
2 Let the House of Israel say, ‘His faithful love endures for ever.’
3 Let the House of Aaron say, ‘His faithful love endures for ever.’
4 Let those who fear Yahweh say, ‘His faithful love endures for ever.’
5 In my distress I called to Yahweh, he heard me and brought me relief.
6 With Yahweh on my side I fear nothing; what can human beings do to me?
7 With Yahweh on my side as my help, I gloat over my enemies.
8 It is better to take refuge in Yahweh than to rely on human beings;
9 better to take refuge in Yahweh than to rely on princes.
10 Nations were swarming around me, in the name of Yahweh I cut them down;
11 they swarmed around me, pressing upon me, in the name of Yahweh I cut them down.
12 They swarmed around me like bees, they flared up like a brushwood fire, in the name of Yahweh I cut them down.
13 I was pushed hard, to make me fall, but Yahweh came to my help.
14 Yahweh is my strength and my song, he has been my Saviour.
15 Shouts of joy and salvation, in the tents of the upright, ‘Yahweh’s right hand is triumphant,
16 Yahweh’s right hand is victorious, Yahweh’s right hand is triumphant!’
17 I shall not die, I shall live to recount the great deeds of Yahweh.
18 Though Yahweh punished me sternly, he has not abandoned me to death.
19 Open for me the gates of saving justice, I shall go in and thank Yahweh.
20 This is the gate of Yahweh, where the upright go in.
21 I thank you for hearing me, and making yourself my Saviour.
22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
23 This is Yahweh’s doing, and we marvel at it.
24 This is the day which Yahweh has made, a day for us to rejoice and be glad.
25 We beg you, Yahweh, save us, we beg you, Yahweh, give us victory!
26 Blessed in the name of Yahweh is he who is coming! We bless you from the house of Yahweh.
27 Yahweh is God, he gives us light. Link your processions, branches in hand, up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, I thank you, all praise to you, my God. I thank you for hearing me, and making yourself my Saviour.
29 Give thanks to Yahweh for he is good, for his faithful love endures for ever.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Ezekiel 34:11-16
11 “For the Lord Yahweh says this: Look, I myself shall take care of my flock and look after it.
12 As a shepherd looks after his flock when he is with his scattered sheep, so shall I look after my sheep. I shall rescue them from wherever they have been scattered on the day of clouds and darkness.
13 I shall bring them back from the peoples where they are; I shall gather them back from the countries and bring them back to their own land. I shall pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the inhabited parts of the country.
14 I shall feed them in good pasturage; the highest mountains of Israel will be their grazing ground. There they will rest in good grazing grounds; they will browse in rich pastures on the mountains of Israel.
15 I myself shall pasture my sheep, I myself shall give them rest — declares the Lord Yahweh.
16 I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the injured and make the sick strong. I shall watch over the fat and healthy. I shall be a true shepherd to them.(New Jerusalem Bible)
John 21:15-22
15 When they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’
16 A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’
17 Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt that he asked him a third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.
18 In all truth I tell you, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go.’
19 In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, ‘Follow me.’
20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them — the one who had leant back close to his chest at the supper and had said to him, ‘Lord, who is it that will betray you?’
21 Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘What about him, Lord?’
22 Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.’(New Jerusalem Bible)
1 Samuel 17:32–51
32 David said to Saul, ‘Let no one be discouraged on his account; your servant will go and fight this Philistine.’
33 Saul said to David, ‘You cannot go and fight the Philistine; you are only a boy and he has been a warrior since his youth.’
34 David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to look after the sheep for his father and whenever a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock,
35 I used to follow it up, lay into it and snatch the sheep out of its jaws. If it turned on me, I would seize it by the beard and batter it to death.
36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine will end up like one of them for having challenged the armies of the living God.’
37 ‘Yahweh,’ David went on, ‘who delivered me from the claws of lion and bear, will deliver me from the clutches of this Philistine.’ Then Saul said to David, ‘Go, and Yahweh be with you!’
38 Saul dressed David in his own armour; he put a bronze helmet on his head, dressed him in a breastplate
39 and buckled his own sword over David’s armour. David tried to walk but, not being used to them, said to Saul, ‘I cannot walk in these; I am not used to them.’ So they took them off again.
40 He took his stick in his hand, selected five smooth stones from the river bed and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in his pouch; then, sling in hand, he walked towards the Philistine.
41 The Philistine, preceded by his shield-bearer, came nearer and nearer to David.
42 When the Philistine looked David up and down, what he saw filled him with scorn, because David was only a lad, with ruddy cheeks and an attractive appearance.
43 The Philistine said to David, ‘Am I a dog for you to come after me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 The Philistine said to David, ‘Come over here and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the wild beasts!’
45 David retorted to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with sword, spear and scimitar, but I come to you in the name of Yahweh Sabaoth, God of the armies of Israel, whom you have challenged.
46 Today, Yahweh will deliver you into my hand; I shall kill you, I shall cut off your head; today, I shall give your corpse and the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the wild beasts, so that the whole world may know that there is a God in Israel,
47 and this whole assembly know that Yahweh does not give victory by means of sword and spear — for Yahweh is lord of the battle and he will deliver you into our power.’
48 No sooner had the Philistine started forward to confront David than David darted out of the lines and ran to meet the Philistine.
49 Putting his hand in his bag, he took out a stone, slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; the stone penetrated his forehead and he fell face downwards on the ground.
50 Thus David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; he hit the Philistine and killed him, though he had no sword in his hand.
51 David ran and stood over the Philistine, seized his sword, pulled it from the scabbard, despatched him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Psalm 144:1–10
1 [Of David] Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle,
2 my faithful love, my bastion, my citadel, my Saviour; I shelter behind him, my shield, he makes the peoples submit to me.
3 Yahweh, what is a human being for you to notice, a child of Adam for you to think about?
4 Human life, a mere puff of wind, days as fleeting as a shadow.
5 Yahweh, part the heavens and come down, touch the mountains, make them smoke.
6 Scatter them with continuous lightning-flashes, rout them with a volley of your arrows.
7 Stretch down your hand from above, save me, rescue me from deep waters, from the clutches of foreigners,
8 whose every word is worthless, whose right hand is raised in perjury.
9 God, I sing to you a new song, I play to you on the ten-stringed lyre,
10 for you give kings their victories, you rescue your servant David. From the sword of evil(New Jerusalem Bible)
Mark 3:1–6
1 Another time he went into the synagogue, and there was a man present whose hand was withered.
2 And they were watching him to see if he would cure him on the Sabbath day, hoping for something to charge him with.
3 He said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Get up and stand in the middle!’
4 Then he said to them, ‘Is it permitted on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to kill?’ But they said nothing.
5 Then he looked angrily round at them, grieved to find them so obstinate, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
6 The Pharisees went out and began at once to plot with the Herodians against him, discussing how to destroy him.(New Jerusalem Bible)

Wednesday, 18, January 2012
Wednesday of the Second week in Ordinary Time
Saint(s) of the day:St. Jaime Hilario, Martyr (1898-1937)
Commentary of the day:
Saint Gertrude of Helfta (1256-1301), Benedictine nun
Exercises, no. 7, Terce ; SC 127
“They watched him closely… so that they might accuse him”
At the hour of Terce you will place yourself in presence of the divine peace and of love…: O peace of God, you pass all understanding (Phil 4,7), you are unutterably sweet and fair and full of charms. Wherever you penetrate reigns untroubled security. You alone can stay the wrath of the sovereign king; you adorn with clemency the king’s throne; you illumine his glorious kingdom with pity and mercy. Come, then, and take my cause in hand, the cause of a wretch most guilty and most forlorn… Already the creditor is at the door… if I speak with him, I am undone, for I have nothing with which to repay my debt. Sweetest Jesus, my peace, how long will you keep silent?… Be pleased to speak on my behalf, uttering that word of love: «I myself will redeem her.» Most surely you yourself are the refuge of all the poor. You never pass by anyone without granting them healing. Oh, you have never let anyone who has sought refuge at your side leave you without being reconciled…
Be pleased, my love, my Jesus at this hour when you were scourged for my sake, crowned with thorns, pitifully drowned in suffering. You are my true king and, apart from you, I know none other. You made yourself the insult of the people, abject and repulsive like a leper (Is 53,3), so that the Jews refused to acknowledge you as their king (Jn 19,14-15). By your grace, grant that I, at least, may acknowledge you as my king! O my God, give to me that innocent, so greatly beloved, my Jesus, who so fully «paid» for my sake «what he had not stolen» (Ps 69[68],5);give him to me to be my soul’s stay. May I receive him into my heart; may he console my spirit by the bitterness of his pains and Passion…
As for you, O peace of God: be the dear bond binding me to Jesus for ever. Be the support of my strength… that I may be but «one heart and soul» with Jesus (Acts 4,32)… Through you shall I be bound to my Jesus for ever.

1st Thought for Today:
My Utmost for His Highest
Reading for Wednesday 18th January 2012
IT IS THE LORD! by Oswald Chambers
Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God.(John 20:28)
“Give Me to drink.” How many of us are set upon Jesus Christ slaking our thirst when we ought to be satisfying Him? We should be pouring out now, spending to the last limit, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “Ye shall be witnesses unto Me” – that means a life of unsullied, uncompromising and unbribed devotion to the Lord Jesus, a satisfaction to Him wherever He places us.
Beware of anything that competes with loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for Him. It is easier to serve than to be drunk to the dregs. The one aim of the call of God is the satisfaction of God, not a call to do something for Him. We are not sent to battle for God, but to be used by God in His battlings. Are we being more devoted to service than to Jesus Christ?

Reflecting God-Remember to Forget
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Scripture-Psalm 45:10-17
10 Listen, my daughter, attend to my words and hear; forget your own nation and your ancestral home,
11 then the king will fall in love with your beauty; he is your lord, bow down before him.
12 The daughter of Tyre will court your favour with gifts, and the richest of peoples
13 with jewels set in gold. Clothed
14 in brocade, the king’s daughter is led within to the king with the maidens of her retinue; her companions are brought to her,
15 they enter the king’s palace with joy and rejoicing.
16 Instead of your ancestors you will have sons; you will make them rulers over the whole world.
17 I will make your name endure from generation to generation, so nations will sing your praise for ever and ever.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Remember to Forget by Lenny Wisehart
“Forget your people and your father’s house” (verse 10). Can you imagine, after the wedding, a bride telling her new groom, “Okay, you can take me home now. If I need you I will call you, but it is time for me to return to my parents.” We cannot imagine anything so absurd, like-wise, in our walk with Christ; it is not enough to start with him, we must also stay with him. Anything short of that will not work in a marriage or in a relationship with Christ.
As a pastor when I marry a young couple I do not ask them on their wedding day, “Do you know each other?” I ask them, “Are you willing to pledge yourselves to each other for the rest of your days?” When we walk with Christ it is not a casual, “Let’s just see if it will work out.” It is a total commitment–a commitment for life.
In Luke 14:26 Jesus said, “‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother . . . even his own life–he cannot be my disciple.’” Have you left everything to follow him? Everything?
Hymn for Today:
“Holiness Unto the Lord” by Lelia N. Morris
1. “Called unto holiness, Church of our God,
Purchase of Jesus, redeemed by His blood;
Called from the world and its idols to flee,
Called from the bondage of sin to be free.
Refrain
Holiness unto the Lord is our watchword and song.
Holiness unto the Lord as we’re marching along.
Sing it, shout it, loud and long,
Holiness unto the Lord, now and forever.
2. Called unto holiness, children of light,
Walking with Jesus in garments of white;
Raiment unsullied, nor tarnished with sin;
God’s Holy Spirit abiding within.
Refrain
Holiness unto the Lord is our watchword and song.
Holiness unto the Lord as we’re marching along.
Sing it, shout it, loud and long,
Holiness unto the Lord, now and forever.
3. Called unto holiness, praise His dear name!
This blessèd secret to faith now made plain:
Not our own righteousness, but Christ within,
Living, and reigning, and saving from sin.
Refrain
Holiness unto the Lord is our watchword and song.
Holiness unto the Lord as we’re marching along.
Sing it, shout it, loud and long,
Holiness unto the Lord, now and forever.
4. Called unto holiness, bride of the Lamb,
Waiting the Bridegroom’s returning again!
Lift up your heads, for the day draweth near
When in His beauty the King shall appear.
Refrain
Holiness unto the Lord is our watchword and song.
Holiness unto the Lord as we’re marching along.
Sing it, shout it, loud and long,
Holiness unto the Lord, now and forever.
2nd Thought for Today:
“Our hope as committed Christians lies not in what we have or in who we are, but in whose we are”(Elton Trueblood).
Prayer Needs:
Developing Christian leaders in The Netherlands.

3rd Thought for Today:
Wednesday January 18, 2012
Finding Solitude
All human beings are alone. No other person will completely feel like we do, think like we do, act like we do. Each of us is unique, and our aloneness is the other side of our uniqueness. The question is whether we let our aloneness become loneliness or whether we allow it to lead us into solitude. Loneliness is painful; solitude is peaceful. Loneliness makes us cling to others in desperation; solitude allows us to respect others in their uniqueness and create community.
Letting our aloneness grow into solitude and not into loneliness is a lifelong struggle. It requires conscious choices about whom to be with, what to study, how to pray, and when to ask for counsel. But wise choices will help us to find the solitude where our hearts can grow in love.by Father Henri J. M. Nouwen

The Upper Room Daily Devotional
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Do Not Provoke
Suggested Bible Reading:
Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
1 Though I command languages both human and angelic — if I speak without love, I am no more than a gong booming or a cymbal clashing.
2 And though I have the power of prophecy, to penetrate all mysteries and knowledge, and though I have all the faith necessary to move mountains — if I am without love, I am nothing.
3 Though I should give away to the poor all that I possess, and even give up my body to be burned — if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever.
4 Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited,
5 it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances.
6 Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth.
7 It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes.
8 Love never comes to an end. But if there are prophecies, they will be done away with; if tongues, they will fall silent; and if knowledge, it will be done away with.
9 For we know only imperfectly, and we prophesy imperfectly;
10 but once perfection comes, all imperfect things will be done away with.
11 When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and see things as a child does, and think like a child; but now that I have become an adult, I have finished with all childish ways.
12 Now we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles, but then we shall be seeing face to face. Now I can know only imperfectly; but then I shall know just as fully as I am myself known.
13 As it is, these remain: faith, hope and love, the three of them; and the greatest of them is love.(New Jerusalem Bible)
Today’s Scripture:
Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart.(Colossians 3:21 (NRSV))
Today’s Devotional
Long ago when I had just discovered God, I read in the newspaper that the Bible tells parents not to provoke their children. It was a secular newspaper; and for some reason, I could not believe that such words might be in the Bible. From childhood, even when we were far from faith, we heard that we should honor our father and mother. But we did not hear the reverse, that parents should respect their children.
I immediately opened the Bible and began reading the New Testament, looking for those verses. I did not find the relevant ones at first. But when I found them and understood their meaning, I made them the foundation of my relationship with my daughter.
They have given me great consolation when I was irritated by the behavior of my child. I have carried them in my heart like a motto; and on many occasions when bringing up my child was difficult, these words from the Lord gave me strength. My daughter also came to God, and I think that one of the reasons was that I listened to God’s word not to provoke my child but to encourage her. by Galina Samson (Voronezh, Russia)
4th Thought for the Day: Showing respect to others can open doors to speaking about our faith.
Prayer: Dear God our guide, give us strength always to encourage and respect others. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Mothers and daughters
The scripture quotation, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2012 by The Upper Room, a ministry of GBOD. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or redistribute without written permission from the publisher.

Daily Meditation: Living on our One Earth — January 18, 2012
Center for Action and Contemplation
LIVING ON OUR ONE EARTH
When I first joined the Franciscan order in 1961, my novice master told me we could not cut down a tree without permission of the Provincial (our major religious superior). A little bit of Francis lasted 800 years! You see, wilderness is not just wilderness, utilitarian, or expendable. The natural world is not just an object for our consumption; it is much more for our reverence. Francis granted relational subjectivity to the natural world when he called it variously “Brother Sun,” “Sister Fire,” “Brother Air,” and “Sister Water” (from “The Canticle to Brother Sun,” the first piece of known poetry in the Italian language). Nature itself deserved respect, mutuality, friendliness, and “voice”!
Once you grant subjectivity to the natural world, everything changes. Things out there are no longer mere objects with you as the controlling subject, but you now share mutuality with all things. Be careful, this will change your life! For so long now, creation has been a mere commodity, and wilderness has been an arbitrary add-on, a mere backdrop for our human dramas. But we were the only actor on the stage that God cared about, it seemed! Says who? This soul lie is now catching up with us. The contemplative mind does not see things in terms of consumption or capitalistic advantage. It is a new set of eyes, given by God, that allows us to appreciate creation in itself, and for its own sake, until the end, when “There is only Christ: He is everything and He is in everything” (Colossians 3:11). An authentic believer should be on the front lines of such seeing “so that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28). Adapted from Soul Centering Through Nature: Becoming a True Human Adult (webcast) (CD/DVD/MP3)
Starter Prayer:
I am part of the whole. by Father Richard Rohr
Canticle of Brother Sun by Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)
The original name of this song was:
The Canticle of the Creatures
“Laudato si mi signore per sora nostra morte corporale. da la quale nulla homo uiuente po skappare. guai a cquelli ke morrano ne le peccata mortali beati quelli ke trouara ne le tue sanctissime uoluntati ka la morte secunda nol farra male.”
Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,
All praise is Yours, all glory, honor and blessings.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong;
no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.
We praise You, Lord, for all Your creatures,
especially for Brother Sun,
who is the day through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,
of You Most High, he bears your likeness.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Moon and the stars,
in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.
We praise You, Lord, for Brothers Wind and Air,
fair and stormy, all weather’s moods,
by which You cherish all that You have made.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Water,
so useful, humble, precious and pure.
We praise You, Lord, for Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night.
He is beautiful, playful, robust, and strong.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Earth,
who sustains us
with her fruits, colored flowers, and herbs.
We praise You, Lord, for those who pardon,
for love of You bear sickness and trial.
Blessed are those who endure in peace,
by You Most High, they will be crowned.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Death,
from whom no-one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in their sins!
Blessed are those that She finds doing Your Will.
No second death can do them harm.
We praise and bless You, Lord, and give You thanks,
and serve You in all humility.
_______________________________________________

(In Jesus’ Name, Amen.)
_______________________________________________

5th Thought for Today:
Our World at the Beginning of 2012
“The world is going through difficult times, but it has also seen beautiful demonstrations of peace. Wonderful people–to the right, to the left, above and underneath, of all different religions or without any religion– are looking for ways of showing peace, love and welcome to people who are different. They give their smiles, and these smiles sometimes spring from chaos. The announcement of peace is there in our hearts.” An Excerpt from Jean Vanier’s New Year’s Letter, 2012

6th Thought for Today:
Wednesday 18 January 2012
Letting Go of the Mask
Disabled persons can reveal to me my tenderness. But they can also reveal to me my hardness. They can reveal to me a world of darkness in me and a capacity to hurt that I don’t want to admit and which I don’t want to accept. But the discovery of my wounds, of my own brokenness, is a source of peace if I accept it, because then I do not have to pretend that I am what I am not. I do not need a mask. by Jean Vanier

WEDNESDAY 01.18.12 from The Church of the Resurrection-United Methodist in Leawood, Kansas, United States
Philippians 2:5 Make your own the mind of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped.
7 But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being,
8 he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.
9 And for this God raised him high, and gave him the name which is above all other names;
10 so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus
11 and that every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”(New Jerusalem Bible)
Sometimes people read this passage (which probably quoted words from one of the earliest Christian hymns) as though it were “just spiritual.” But when we think about the kind of life these words really call us to, we realize that, to the degree we live into them, they will reshape every relationship we have, especially our closest relationships.
• Last month, Christmas led us to ponder the mystery and wonder of God, maker of the universe, coming to earth as a helpless human baby born to poor, peasant parents. John Dickson writes that humility is “to hold your power in service of others.” In what real-life ways can you hold your power in service to your mate, your children, your friends? What will it look like for you to “adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus”?
• The Message renders verse 6 this way: “He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what.” In our status-conscious world, how does Jesus’ model speak to your ways of relating?
PRAYER FOR THE WEEK:
Lord God, you are love, and you created us for loving relationships with you and with each other. But we have varying backgrounds, personalities and abilities. Help my heart as well as my mind to learn that you love me just as I am, and that you love me too much to leave me as I am. As I commit myself to you each day, increase my capacity first to receive your love, and then to love my spouse, children, friends and even strangers who so need your love. Amen.
Wednesday 1.18.12 Insight from Rev. Steven Blair
Rev. Steven Blair is the Congregational Care pastor of Resurrection’s Support Ministries.
Best Advice/ Worst Advice
Context Matters. This Scripture has the ability to provide great healing or great pain for you. I’ll explain.
Think about your safety drills at school. In the case of a tornado, the instruction is for all students to move to the hallway or another inner room, kneel, crouch and hold a book over their heads. In the case of a fire, the instructions are for everyone to leave the school in an orderly fashion and move yards away from the building.
Both sets of instructions are very helpful, as long as the instructions match the type of danger. Consider the folly, however, of telling students to head outside, yards away from the school in case of a tornado or to hunker down in the hallway in case of a fire. In those cases, the great words of instruction for one situation would actually cause more harm in the other.
Today’s Scripture falls into that category. Look within yourself. If you have tendencies to be “full of yourself” as I tend to have, then this Scripture is medicine to your soul and medicine to your relationships. To those who are full of themselves, Christian discipleship looks like “emptying yourself” as Jesus did, illustrated by this Scripture. How can we allow humility to live in our hearts where there was so much pride? That is our challenge.
On the other side, if you tend to let people take advantage of you, God is not asking you to become more of a doormat. You are a child of God, and heir to the throne of God as the Apostle Paul says in the Book of Romans. If you are in a physically, emotionally, or sexually abusive situation, your act of Christian discipleship is to call 1800- END-ABUSE and not to “become nothing,” or “become obedient to death.” If you tend to bite your tongue and swallow your opinions, then you can come to Celebrate Recovery where “There’s a Group for That (www.cor.org/celebraterecovery).”
This Scripture is beautiful. It convicts me to have more of the heart of Jesus and to empty my arrogance from my heart so my relationships and myself can enjoy my heart more. It has also been used and sometimes interpreted to advocate subservient persons to stay downtrodden.
Like a school safety drill, you have you know the situation to know what message to follow for yourself AND to know what message to tell others.
In Christ,
Steven Blair
Pastor of Celebrate Recovery and Live Well Ministries.
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross.