• Home Page

• Bible Reading Schedule

• Yesterday's Reading

• Tomorrow's Reading

• Spiritual Direction

• R.S. Thomas

• Mulholland

• My Examiner

• Videos

• Clients and Services

     The Dutch hoped there existed a water route across America to the Pacific, and they sent Henry Hudson to find it. Although he was unsuccessful, he did lay claim to the land along the Hudson River, so named for him. There the Dutch West India Company founded the colony of New Netherlands, receiving their charter this day, June 3, 1621. The Dutch leader, called the "Staten Generaal," after which Staten Island was named, gave the regulation: "[Colonists] shall…by their Christian life and conduct, lead Indians… to the knowledge of God and His Word, without, however, persecuting anyone because of his faith."

Federer, B. (2003). American minute. St. Louis, MO.: Amerisearch, Inc.

When grace possesses the life, it brings a threefold power.
It brings "redemption," the powers of liberation;
it brings "wisdom," the power of illumination;
it brings "understanding,"
the power of applying the illumination
to the difficulties of life.
--- John Henry Jowett


... from here, there and everywhere

14 A person's spirit can sustain him when ill,
but a crushed spirit—who can bear it?

15 The mind of a person with discernment gets knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE
: An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and
B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.

The secret of the Lord

     The secret (friendship R.V.) of the Lord is with them that fear Him. --- Psalm 25:14.

     What is the sign of a friend? That he tells you secret sorrows? No, that he tells you secret joys. Many will confide to you their secret sorrows, but the last mark of intimacy is to confide secret joys. Have we ever let God tell us any of His joys, or are we telling God our secrets so continually that we leave no room for Him to talk to us? At the beginning of our Christian life we are full of requests to God, then we find that God wants to get us into relationship with Himself, to get us in touch with His purposes. Are we so wedded to Jesus Christ's idea of prayer—"Thy will be done"—that we catch the secrets of God? The things that make God dear to us are not so much His great big blessings as the tiny things, because they show His amazing intimacy with us; He knows every detail of our individual lives.

     "… him shall He teach in the way that He shall choose." At first we want the consciousness of being guided by God, then as we go on we live so much in the consciousness of God that we do not need to ask what His will is, because the thought of choosing any other will never occur to us. If we are saved and sanctified God guides us by our ordinary choices, and if we are going to choose what He does not want, He will check, and we must heed. Whenever there is doubt, stop at once. Never reason it out and say—'I wonder why I shouldn't?' God instructs us in what we choose, that is, He guides our common sense, and we no longer hinder His Spirit by continually saying—'Now, Lord, what is Thy will?'

Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest

   Telling us so much
   it so much the more
   withholds. Who was he?
   The clothes a labourer's

   clothes: coarse trousers, torn
   jacket, a mole-skin
   cap. But that volume
   under the arm—-a

   hedge-poet, a scholar
   by rushlight? We look
   closer: no soil in
   that eye, but light

   generated by a
   mind charging self
   at its own sources.
   Radiant soul, shrugging

   the type's ignorance
   off, he hastens towards
   us, to the future
   we inhabit and must

   welcome him to, but
   nervously, all too
   aware of the discrepancy
   with his expectations.

Thomas, R. S. Welsh Airs

D'RASH

     The words of Rav Yosef and Rabbi Elazar, cynical as they may sound, are nonetheless a good reminder not to let the amazing go unnoticed. How many wondrous things have we let slip by? How many events have we only later said, "Wow, that was a miracle!"? Yet, the exposition can also be seen as a more general reminder not to overlook the extraordinary and the positive in events as they are happening. Undoubtedly, each of us has been guilty of this at one time or another.

     Imagine that we are driving down the street, trying to get somewhere in a hurry. We are running late, and then we get stuck at a corner while a man, slowly and meticulously, crosses the street. Our first reaction may be, "Why me? Why now? Why couldn't this slow-poke choose to cross somewhere else? I'm going to be late because he's taking forever!" Just as we are about to lose our cool, we see that this man is blind, and we begin to reevaluate the situation. Thank God, we have our eyesight. We are capable of driving here and there, even rushing around, even if we are a bit late at times. The situation really isn't as bad as we assumed it was a few minutes ago. In fact, on second thought, we are extraordinarily lucky just having the ability to see. In perspective, being late turns out to be a minor inconvenience.

     Psychologist Martin E.P. Seligman, in his book Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life , asserts that people who are optimistic, who see the best in every situation, are ultimately more successful. Seligman proposes that we look at every situation critically, thinking of alternative ways of interpreting events. Does it have to be as negative as we initially thought? Is there only the one way of looking at it? Finding the optimistic and optimal way of construing situations is, according to Seligman, in our own best interest, leading to greater happiness and a fuller, richer life.

     Centuries ago, Rav Yosef and Rabbi Elazar were trying to get us to look optimistically at the world and be thankful for what we have. They knew how difficult it is for us to appreciate the miracles around us. Their words remind us to acknowledge the many positives in life. We are required, by Jewish tradition, to thank God three times every day for "Your miracles which daily attend us." We begin to realize that our lives are really quite amazing and that we have a great deal for which to be thankful. We understand that the splitting of the sea was a monumental miracle long ago; however, there are miracles all around us every single day—the birth of a baby, the constant beating of our hearts, the daily renewal of nature, and even the ability to awaken and experience all of these. For some of us, this may be an acquired skill. For all of us, this appreciation makes life so much richer.

     Mitzvot will be annulled in the World-to-Come.

     Text / The Rabbis taught: "A garment in which kilayim was lost should not be sold to an idolater or made into a saddlecloth, but it can be made into a shroud for the dead." Rav Yosef said: "This proves that mitzvot will be annulled in the World-to-Come." Abaye (and some say Rav Dimi) said to him: "Didn't Rabbi Manni say in the name of Rabbi Yannai: 'This [that we can use kilayim] was taught only to lament him, but to bury him, it is prohibited'?!" He [Rav Yosef] said: "But wasn't it taught that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: 'Even to bury him'? And Rabbi Yoḥanan is consistent, for Rabbi Yoḥanan said: 'What does it mean when it is written: "free among the dead" [Psalms 88:6, author's translation]? As soon as he dies, a man becomes free from the mitzvot.' "

     Context / You shall observe My laws.You shall not let your cattle mate with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; you shall not put on cloth from a mixture [kilayim] of two kinds of material.
--- Leviticus 19:19

You shall not wear cloth combining wool and linen.

--- Deuteronomy 22:11

I am numbered with those who go down to the Pit;
I am a helpless man abandoned among the dead,
like bodies lying in the grave of whom You are mindful no more,
and who are cut off from Your care.
--- Psalms 88:5–6

     The Torah specifically prohibits certain mixtures called kilayim—different types of animals while plowing, different types of seeds while sowing a field, and wool and linen in cloth (called sha'atnez in Deuteronomy). This Gemara discusses the case of a garment that may have become prohibited by having both wool and linen in it. This piece of cloth is only possibly kilayim, since a thread of wool may have been woven into a linen garment—"lost"—or a thread of linen in a woolen garment. The thread cannot be found and removed from the cloth. The opening of this Gemara deals with the case of such a piece of cloth.

     The Rabbis taught that it should not be sold to a non-Jew who, while not subject to the laws of kilayim, might nonetheless inadvertently sell that cloth back to a Jew. Neither should the cloth be made into a garment which, while not worn, will still be sat upon (a "saddle-cloth") and used by a Jew. However, the Rabbis teach it may be made into a shroud. From this, Rav Yosef deduces that the mitzvot are no longer incumbent on those who have died; its use as a shroud proves that the dead no longer have to observe the mitzvah of kilayim and, hence, all the mitzvot. However, Abaye (or Rav Dimi) argues that there is a tradition that teaches us that we can use kilayim only during the mourning process, but for the burial, we are prohibited from using this cloth. Rav Yosef answers this objection with another tradition from Rabbi Yoḥanan: He taught that this cloth with kilayim is allowed even to bury a person in. Rabbi Yoḥanan finds proof in a verse from Psalm 88. The psalmist uses the expression ḥofshi which can be translated as either "free/released" or "abandoned" ["among the dead"]. Rabbi Yoḥanan understands the verse to mean that the person among the dead is "freed" from the worries and responsibilities of this world, specifically the mitzvot.

Katz, M., & Schwartz, G. (1998). Swimming in the Sea of Talmud: Lessons for Everyday LIving . Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society.

     Hallowed be your name. --- Luke 11:2

     In the invocation, Jesus gave us a new name for God. THE MODEL PRAYER A Series of Expositions on "The Lord's Prayer" In the first petition, he teaches us to pray for grace to honor that new name of Father by thought and life.

     Our first thoughts when we pray must be of God. Above all personal interest stands the glory of God. Before the prayer for daily bread, for forgiveness, for deliverance, comes the prayer that God may have the glory due to his name. [And] hallowing God's name means honoring the character of God that has been made known to us in Jesus Christ.

     [We hallow God's name] by cherishing worthy ideas of God. We are sinning against this name Father when we think of God as harsh, cruel. You must cherish beautiful thoughts of God if you are to hallow his name. The deeper we penetrate into the nature of God, the more loving, the more gracious we will find him to be. Therefore press on to know him until you come to feel that in earth, in heaven, you want none but him.

     [You hallow God's name] by the trustfulness of your life. A child cannot dishonor a father more than by fearing him, being suspicious about him, doubting his love. People sometimes complain of God's dealing with them. They have spoken as if God used them hardly, as if God had lost his love for them. They were dishonoring God's name, casting a slur on his character, forgetting that his nature is love and his name is Father. Those who, in spite of Calvary, think God can be unkind are doing insult to his love. We find ourselves in storms sometimes. In such storms we have the most glorious opportunities of hallowing God's name. Let us ask him for grace to honor his fatherhood by trusting him in the dark and cloudy day.

     [We hallow God's name] by our obedience. Nothing is so dishonoring to God as profession without practice. Obey him. Obey him promptly, absolutely, willingly. That was how Jesus hallowed his Father's name. It was his food and drink to do God's will. He gave his Father full, absolute, glad obedience, so that in his prayer he could say to God, "I have brought you glory."

     We try to put God off with a little outward respect, we bow at his name, we bend in prayer before him, we sing hymns to his praise, but better than all is the daily obedience of the life. Tomorrow in the shop, the office, the school, and the home, make it your food and drink to do the Father's will.
--- J. D. Jones

Wallis, D. (2001). Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers (27). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.

     1 Chronicles 4:1 has recorded descendants from Adam to Jacob's sons (1:1-2:2). The tribe of Judah is emphasized because they were the line of David (2:3-3:24). Now, in the third main section of the family trees in 1 Chr. 1-9, the chronicler records some of the ancestry of the other tribes of Israel. In keeping with its emphasis on the southern kingdom and David, 1 Chr. considers the tribe of Judah first (4:1-23), though Judah was the fourth son of Jacob. In its accounting of the ancestry of the tribes of Israel, Zebulun and Dan are not specifically mentioned. However, the genealogies of the two tribes arising through Joseph—Manasseh and Ephraim—are mentioned (5:23-26; 7:14-29). The tribe of Benjamin is mentioned twice (7:6-12; 8:1-40) to show its significance as the line of King Saul. But the tribe that is given special attention in this section is Levi. More space is given to discussing the Levites than to any other tribe (6:1-81) because 1 Chr. repeatedly accents the temple and worship. The life and times of all these people can be found in Gen. 29-2 Kin. 25, and the Levites are given special attention in the Book of Leviticus.

New Spirit-Filled Life Bible: Kingdom Equipping Through the Power of the Word (Bible Nkjv)

     The families of the tribe of Gad, and their dwelling-places.—V. 11. In connection with the preceding statement as to the dwelling-places of the Reubenites, the enumeration of the families of Gad begins with a statement as to their dwelling-places: "Over against them (the Reubenites) dwelt the Gadites in Bashan unto Salcah." Bashan is used here in its wider signification of the dominion of King Og, which embraced the northern half of Gilead, i.e., the part of that district which lay on the north side of the Jabbok, and the whole district of Bashan; cf. on Deut. 3:10. Salcah formed the boundary towards the east, and is now Szalchad, about six hours eastward from Bosra (see on Deut. 3:10).

Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (2002). Commentary on the Old Testament

     Sin's outcome in judgment. As the race multiplied and spread across the earth, the expressions of sin we read of in Genesis 4 and 5 multiplied too. Then, when "every inclination of the thoughts of [man's] heart was only evil all the time" (Gen. 6:5), God acted to bring the judgment of the Flood on the human race (Gen. 6–9). Represented in the genealogies by Noah, this cataclysm communicated the fact that sin not only twists human experience, but also incurs guilt. And guilt forces a holy God to judge.

     One family, Noah's, was borne over the waters and planted in a renewed world. Mankind was given a fresh start by a man who had enough faith in God to obey His instructions to build a boat.

     History repeats itself. The next names in the genealogy, and Genesis 10 and 11, pick up the history of the race after the Flood. Again man disobeyed God. Rather than scattering to accept God-given dominion over creation (see 1:28), the postdiluvian people attempted to build a society without the Lord. So God scattered them Himself, confusing their language.

     It was probably at the end of this period, around the time of Abraham, that Job lived. A godly man in an unnamed culture, Job illustrates early faith in God, and the loss of knowledge of God which came as the generations passed. God still cares for and deals with individuals, but sin has twisted the course of the race into unfruitful paths.

     Abraham's call. Then comes a great name in the genealogical hall. With the introduction of Abram in Genesis 12, history took a new direction. God spoke to this pagan from Ur, and Abram responded. To Abram God gave a series of great promises, in a covenant explained in Genesis 12, 15, and 17. God announced the course of history ahead of time, as well as the purpose He would fulfill as history moves toward its intended culmination.

     God announced that He would no longer work with man as a whole, but would work for all mankind through Abraham and his descendants. To these descendants God promised a specific land, Palestine. He also promised great blessings, and a special relationship with Him. God also promised that through this people would come One in whom the whole human race would be blessed.

     From that time on, Abraham, his children, and his grandchildren began to view themselves as God's chosen people. God's purposes in history are to be worked out through them. These people are the key to understanding the past and the future; to understanding what has been, and what must surely be.

     Captivity in Egypt. As the focus in the genealogies shifts to the sons of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, so the geographical location also shifts.

     After three generations Abraham's descendants moved from Palestine, the land of covenant promise, to Egypt. There the people of Israel, named now for Abraham's grandson, waited for the next step in God's plan to unfold.

     At first the Israelites were guests in Egypt. Then a series of political changes transformed their status, and they became slaves. As slaves, God's people suffered under harsh taskmasters. Because they multiplied so quickly, the Egyptians even initiated a policy of killing their male children when they were born.

     Israel remembered the old stories of the God who spoke to their forefathers and who made great promises. But under the harsh reality of their immediate circumstances, the past they recalled and the future they dreamed of must have seemed tragically unreal.

     Over generations of slavery, the people of Israel were humbled and crushed. They discovered through their suffering that there was no inherent strength in themselves that could win them freedom. Release could only come through the intervention of God.

     Deliverance. God did intervene. Exodus tells us how God sent Moses to confront Pharaoh, Egypt's ruler. God's first demands that Pharaoh let His people go were refused. This brought a series of terrible judgments on the Egyptian people. Finally God struck down the oldest son in each Egyptian family. In terror, the Egyptians thrust Israel out of their country.

     The redemption of Israel from Egypt by God's direct and personal intervention is a symbol of all redemption. What man cannot do to free himself from sin's slavery, God can do.

     The redemption from Egypt also reaffirmed to Israel the faithfulness of God. God remembered His covenant with Abraham, and acted to keep His promises.

     In order that Israel might always remember their need for God's intervention, the Passover feast was instituted. This annual time of remembering deliverance was designed to remind Israel that God is the source of their freedom.

     In a series of continuing miracles, including the opening of the Red Sea for Israel and its closing to destroy a pursuing Egyptian army, God demonstrated His firm intention to free His people forever from the slavery under which they had suffered.

     The Law. The name of Moses is forever linked with Law. Israel's redemption from Egypt freed God's people from external tyranny. But events soon demonstrated that this people was in bondage to an inner tyranny that was even more destructive. Sin sinks its roots deep into the personalities of even redeemed men and women. Once out of Egypt, God's people murmured and complained. They forgot His commitment to them, and they began to doubt and resist Moses at every turn.

     God guided His people to Sinai. There God gave Israel a Law to set standards that revealed the Lord's own character, and showed them the way He expected His people to live. As told in Exodus 19—24, at Sinai God gave His people the Mosaic Law. This Law not only established moral standards, but also defined the distinctive lifestyle which God was to hold His people to, both for their benefit and as a testimony.

     But, again, the Law provided an external standard. It did not change Israel within. The continuing story of the redeemed generation shows their inability to trust God, and the subsequent disobedience. Commanded to enter the Promised Land, Israel refused. The people were condemned to 38 years of wandering in the wilderness, until the generation that had known God's deliverance from Egypt died. Because of unbelief they were unable to enter into the promised rest.

     The new generation. The men and women who had seen God's mighty acts in Egypt, but had refused to trust Him, died. Their children now stood poised on the edge of the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy, we hear Moses restate the Law and sketch again the lifestyle of trust to which God called His people. In Joshua we see the new generation respond to God and follow their new leader to victory.

     The Promised Land was taken in a series of swift military moves, with God making His presence known on the side of His people at Jericho and in other actions.

     With opposition of the people of the land rendered ineffective, the people of God settled into their promised rest.

     Sin reappears again. Even though Israel moved into an ideal environment, in a social system designed by God to bless His people, the ancient specter of sin again appeared. The generations that followed drifted away from God and were marked by growing disobedience. Over the decades, the lifestyle of Israel deteriorated. God judged sin with the removal of His protection, and Israel's enemies gained ascendancy over the 12 tribes. Yet, when Israel turned to God, He sent deliverers or "judges" to free the people from their enemies and lead them back to His ways.

     The more than 330 years that the Judges ruled were days of repeated ups and downs for Israel. But the trend of history was downward. The days of the Judges were dark days, days during which sin's dreadful dominion was demonstrated even under the divinely ordained system of government, the theocracy, which was potentially the best man has ever known.

     The kingdom. Finally Israel demanded a new system of government. Israel's first king, Saul, demonstrated once again that the root of the sin problem is in man, not in society. But then God gave Israel a godly king, David. David led Israel to a foreshadowing of that glory which God told His people to expect.

     It is here that the 1 Chronicles' genealogies end. "Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the Word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse" (1 Chron. 10:13–14).