Lewis Cass was born this day, October 9, 1782. He fought in the War of 1812, and later became the Governor of the Michigan Territory. Cass made treaties with the Indians, organized townships and built roads. He was a U.S. Senator, Secretary of State under President Buchanan and the Democratic Presidential candidate in 1848. Lewis Cass stated: “The fate of republican government is indissolubly bound up with the fate of the Christian religion, and a people who reject its holy faith will find themselves the slaves of their own evil passions and of arbitrary power.”

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

When wealth is lost, nothing is lost;
when health is lost, something is lost;
when character is lost, all is lost.
--- Billy Graham


Sooner or later, man has always had to decide
whether he worships his own power
or the power of God.
--- Arnold J. Toynbee


... from here, there and everywhere

23 Like silver slag overlaid on a clay pot
     are lips that burn [with friendship] over a hating heart.
24 He who hates may hide it with his speech;
     but inside, he harbors deceit.
25 He may speak pleasantly, but don’t trust him;
     for seven abominations are in his heart.
26 His hatred may be concealed by deceit,
     but his wickedness will be revealed in the assembly.

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.

                Pull yourself together

     Yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. --- Romans 6:13–22.

     I cannot save and sanctify myself; I cannot atone for sin; I cannot redeem the world; I cannot make right what is wrong, pure what is impure, holy what is unholy. That is all the sovereign work of God. Have I faith in what Jesus Christ has done? He has made a perfect Atonement, am I in the habit of constantly realizing it? The great need is not to do things, but to believe things. The Redemption of Christ is not an experience, it is the great act of God which He has performed through Christ, and I have to build my faith upon it. If I construct my faith on my experience, I produce that most unscriptural type, an isolated life, my eyes fixed on my own whiteness. Beware of the piety that has no presupposition in the Atonement of the Lord. It is of no use for anything but a sequestered life; it is useless to God and a nuisance to man. Measure every type of experience by our Lord Himself. We cannot do anything pleasing to God unless we deliberately build on the presupposition of the Atonement.

     The Atonement of Jesus has to work out in practical, unobtrusive ways in my life. Every time I obey, absolute Deity is on my side, so that the grace of God and natural obedience coincide. Obedience means that I have banked everything on the Atonement, and my obedience is met immediately by the delight of the supernatural grace of God.

     Beware of the piety that denies the natural life, it is a fraud. Continually bring yourself to the bar of the Atonement—where is the discernment of the Atonement in this thing, and in that?

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

Summer is here.
  Once more the house has its
  Spray of martins, Proust's fountain
  Of small birds, whose light shadows
  Come and go in the sunshine
  Of the lawn as thoughts do
  In the mind. Watching them fly
  Is my business, not as a man vowed
  To science, who counts their returns
  To the rafters, or sifts their droppings
  For facts, recording the wave-length
  Of their screaming; my method is so
  To have them about myself
  Through the hours of this brief
  Season and to fill with their
  Movement, that it is I they build
  In and bring up their young
  To return to after the bitter
  Migrations, knowing the site
  Inviolate through its outward changes.

R.S. Thomas Selected poems, 1946-1968

     The third option contains elements of the second, yet is significantly different. Unable to sever thought from practice, as the person utilizing the previous option of dualism is able to do, the individual refuses to sacrifice his body for his mind. He chooses to reject his own tradition completely, since he cannot separate the system of moral and religious rituals from theoretical claims.

     Individuals using options two and three agree that the truths of reason are in complete disharmony with the cognitive principles of the tradition. Neither of them allows tradition to define truth. Put in religious terms, they both agree that knowledge-claims cannot be justified by an exclusive appeal to revelation, but must be scrutinized to determine whether they are agreeable to human reason.

     A mind that is loyal to the claims of reason may find the claims of revelation degrading and insulting. The claim that divine thoughts are not human thoughts becomes, for this individual, not a justification for submission to revelation but a reason for its rejection. He finds himself incapable of accepting a divine truth which is false by human standards. Appeal to authority does not convince a mind that views loyalty to tradition as an obstacle to the growth of understanding. The independent human mind then becomes the judge as to what is to count as truth.

     The first option, the way of insulation, rejected knowledge which is unconfirmed by tradition. The second option rejected the truth-claims of tradition but accepted its practical demands. The third option rejects both the cognitive and the practical on the grounds that it is impossible to sever the private, theoretical self from the public, active self. A man choosing the third option cannot subscribe to a tradition—even though that tradition only affects actions—if in order to justify those actions, he must posit specific theological claims (e.g., a god of history, revelation) which he knows to be false.

     However the unified and integrated person may not have to reject tradition. There can be another way to resolve the conflict of tradition and reason.

Hartman, D. (2009). Maimonides: Torah and Philosophic Quest (See all Torah Books) .

     The modern Baptist movement began in the early 1600s; and though its leaders suffered imprisonment and death at the hands of British officials, they persevered. Among them was Benjamin Keach, born in 1640. He was converted to Christ at 18 and began pastoring ten years later. He served the Horsley Down Baptist Church in Southwark near London where he was described by associates as “earnest, self-educated, intensely evangelical, his outlook narrowed to the denomination and almost to the congregation, but wielding great influence within those limits.”

     Keach loved both children and singing—and that’s what got him into trouble. Wanting to explain Baptist beliefs to the young, he wrote a primer for them. The children loved it. The king didn’t. British constables arrested him, and on October 9, 1664 he stood a prisoner in the court of Aylesbury while the Chief Justice roared: Benjamin Keach, you are convicted of writing and publishing a seditious and scandalous book; you shall go to prison for a fortnight and the next Saturday stand in a pillory for two hours from eleven o’clock until one with a paper upon your head with this inscription: “For writing and printing and publishing a schismatical book entitled, The Child Instructor or A New and Easy Primer,” and the next Thursday to stand in the same manner and for that same time in the market at Winslow, and there your book shall openly be burnt before your face by the common hangman in disgrace of you and your doctrine, and you shall forfeit to the king’s majesty the sum of twenty pounds.

     Keach actually spent two months in prison and paid one hundred pounds, but he didn’t learn his lesson. Some time afterward he got into trouble again, this time for publishing a hymnal. English-speaking churches had previously sung only the psalms of David, usually to ponderous tunes. In 1691 Keach published Spiritual Melody, a book of 300 lively hymns. Such a radical innovation upset his congregation, and he watched with alarm as many members left. But Keach nevertheless spent the rest of his life in the seditious and scandalous pursuits of teaching children and singing hymns.

     Memorize his laws and tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them all the time, whether you’re at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning. Write down copies. …
--- Deuteronomy 6:6-8.

Morgan, R. J. On This Day 365 Amazing And Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs And Heroes

     The summer has ended. --- Jeremiah 8:20.

     The soul of the intelligent Christian reflects the natural. (Old Wells Dug Out; Being a 3rd Ser. of 50 Sermons )The year is a temple of praise on whose altar, as an offering, spring puts its blossoms and summer its grain and autumn its fruits, while winter stands at the altar praising God with psalm of snow and hail and tempest.

     Summer is the perfection of the year, the season of beauty. But that wave of summer beauty is receding. The sap of the tree is halting in its upward current. The night is fast conquering the day.

     In the latter part of October or the first of November is a season called Indian summer. It is the gem of the year—a haziness in the atmosphere, but everything pleasant and mild. And I see before me tonight some who have come to that season. A haziness is on their vision, but the sweetness of heaven has melted into their souls. I congratulate those who have come to the Indian summer of their lives. Their grandchildren climb on the back of the chair and run their fingers along the wrinkles that time has furrowed there. Blessed is old age, if found in the way of righteousness!

     But my text is appropriate for all those whose fortunes have perished. If you lose your property at thirty or forty years of age, it is only a sharp discipline, generally, by which later you come to larger success. It is folly to sit down in midlife discouraged. Though the meridian of life has passed with you, and you have been routed in many a conflict, do not give up in discouragement. There are victories yet for you to gain.

     But sometimes monetary disaster comes when there is something in your age or in your health or in your surroundings that makes you know that you will never get up again. Leaves of worldly property all scattered—the daybook, the ledger, and the money. But you have more remaining than you have lost.

     Sons and daughters of God, do not mourn when your property goes. The world is yours, and life, death, immortality, thrones of grandeur, rivers of gladness, and shining mansions are yours, and God is yours! The eternal God has sworn it, and every time you doubt it, you charge the King of heaven and earth with perjury. Instead of complaining how hard you have it, go home tonight, take up your Bible full of promises, get down on your knees before God, and thank him for what you have, instead of spending so much time complaining about what you do not have.
--- T. DeWitt Talmage

Wallis, D. (2001). Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers

PROPER 23, SUNDAY
YEAR 1

Psalms (Morning) Psalm 146, 147
Psalms (Evening) Psalm 111, 112, 113
Old Testament Jeremiah 36:1–10
New Testament Acts 14:8–18
Gospel Luke 7:36–50

Index of Readings

PSALMS (MORNING)
Psalm 146, 147

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortals, in whom there is no help.
4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
on that very day their plans perish.

5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD their God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;
8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the strangers;
he upholds the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10 The LORD will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD!

1 Praise the LORD!
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
6 The LORD lifts up the downtrodden;
he casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre.
8 He covers the heavens with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives to the animals their food,
and to the young ravens when they cry.
10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;
11 but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.

12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
14 He grants peace within your borders;
he fills you with the finest of wheat.
15 He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down hail like crumbs—
who can stand before his cold?
18 He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the LORD!

PSALMS (EVENING)
Psalm 111, 112, 113

1 Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of honor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;
the LORD is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever.

1 Praise the LORD!
Happy are those who fear the LORD,
who greatly delight in his commandments.
2 Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
4 They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
they will be remembered forever.
7 They are not afraid of evil tidings;
their hearts are firm, secure in the LORD.
8 Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9 They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever;
their horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked see it and are angry;
they gnash their teeth and melt away;
the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD;
praise the name of the LORD.

2 Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time on and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting
the name of the LORD is to be praised.
4 The LORD is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like the LORD our God,
who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust,
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!

OLD TESTAMENT
Jeremiah 36:1–10

36 In the fourth year of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. 3 It may be that when the house of Judah hears of all the disasters that I intend to do to them, all of them may turn from their evil ways, so that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.

4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words of the LORD that he had spoken to him. 5 And Jeremiah ordered Baruch, saying, “I am prevented from entering the house of the LORD; 6 so you go yourself, and on a fast day in the hearing of the people in the LORD’s house you shall read the words of the LORD from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the people of Judah who come up from their towns. 7 It may be that their plea will come before the LORD, and that all of them will turn from their evil ways, for great is the anger and wrath that the LORD has pronounced against this people.” 8 And Baruch son of Neriah did all that the prophet Jeremiah ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the LORD in the LORD’s house.

9 In the fifth year of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the towns of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the LORD. 10 Then, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the LORD’s house.

NEW TESTAMENT
Acts 14:8–18

8 In Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet and had never walked, for he had been crippled from birth. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. And Paul, looking at him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And the man sprang up and began to walk. 11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifice. 14 When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting, 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to follow their own ways; 17 yet he has not left himself without a witness in doing good—giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.” 18 Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

GOSPEL
Luke 7:36–50

36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. 37 And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. 38 She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” 40 Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” 41 “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” 48 Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

The Episcopal Church. Book of Common Prayer Lectionary

     The Dead Sea Scrolls have made their way online some 2,000 years after they were written through a partnership between Google and Israel’s national museum.

     The important documents are available in searchable, high-resolution images, accompanied by informative videos, background information, and historical data. So far five of the scrolls have been digitized, including the biblical Book of Isaiah, the Temple Scroll, and three others.

     Managing Director of Google’s R&D Center in Israel, Professor Yossi Matias said they plan to add additional Dead Sea Scroll documents to the site in the future. The AP says nearly all the scrolls will be online by 2016. (PC Magazine)

     Here is technology at its best!           Click Here