From Mark Copeland... "THE CHRISTIAN HOME AND FAMILY" The Tragedy Of Divorce

                    "THE CHRISTIAN HOME AND FAMILY"

                         The Tragedy Of Divorce

INTRODUCTION

1. Our previous study listed many potential causes of 

   family conflict that often...
   a. Strain the best of families
   b. Lead many to believe divorce is an easy solution

2. In the Bible, we read that God hates divorce... - Mal 2:13-16
   a. It "covers one's garment with violence"
   b. It is "treacherous"     

[For the past generation, quick and easy "no-fault" divorce has been
available.  We are just now learning of the long-term effects of divorce.
It is not a pretty picture.  Consider what studies have shown on...]

I. THE EFFECTS OF DIVORCE ON CHILDREN

   A. MENTALLY...
      1. Teenagers in single-parent families and in blended families
         are three times more likely to need psychological help within a
         given year. (Peter Hill Recent Advances in Selected Aspects of 
         Adolescent Development Journal of Child Psychology and 
         Psychiatry 1993)
      2. Compared to children from homes disrupted by death, children
         from divorced homes have more psychological problems. (Robert E.
         Emery, Marriage, Divorce and Children's Adjustment Sage 
         Publications, 1988)
      3. The study of children six years after a parental marriage
         breakup revealed that even after all that time, these children
         tended to be lonely, unhappy, anxious and insecure". 
         (Wallerstein, The Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Children - 
         Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent 
         Psychiatry 1991)

   B. SOCIALLY...
      1. Children of divorce, particularly boys, tend to be more
         aggressive toward others than those children whose parents did 
         not divorce. (Emery, Marriage, Divorce and Children's 
         Adjustment, 1988)
      2. Children of divorce are four times more likely to report
         problems with peers and friends than children whose parents have
         kept their marriages intact. (Tysse, Burnett, Moral Dilemmas of 
         Early Adolescents of Divorced and Intact Families. Journal of
         Early Adolescence 1993)
      3. Seventy percent of long-term prison inmates grew up in broken
         homes. (Horn, Bush, Fathers, Marriage and Welfare Reform)

   C. ACADEMICALLY...
      1. Studies in the early 1980s showed that children in repeat
         divorces earned lower grades and their peers rated them as less
         pleasant to be around. (Andrew J. Cherlin, Marriage, Divorce, 
         Remarriage Harvard University Press 1981)
      2. Children of divorced parents are roughly two times more likely
         to drop out of high school than their peers who benefit from 
         living with parents who did not divorce. (McLanahan, Sandefur, 
         Growing Up With a Single Parent: What Hurts, What Helps 
         - Harvard University Press 1994)

   D. PHYSICALLY...
      1. Children living with both biological parents are 20 to 35
         percent more physically healthy than children from broken homes.
         (Dawson, Family Structure and Children's Health and Well-being 
         - Journal of Marriage and the Family)
      2. Following divorce, children are fifty percent more likely to
         develop health problems than two parent families. (Angel, 
         Worobey, Single Motherhood and Children's Health)
      3. Children of divorce are at a greater risk to experience
         injury, asthma, headaches and speech defects than children whose
         parents have remained married. (Dawson, Family Structure and 
         Children's Health and Well Being - National Health Interview
         Survey on Child Health, Journal of Marriage and the Family)
      4. Most victims of child molestation come from single-parent
         households or are the children of drug ring members. (Los 
         Angeles Times 16 September 1985 The Garbage Generation)
      5. A child in a female-headed home is 10 times more likely to be
         beaten or murdered. (The Legal Beagle, July 1984, from The 
         Garbage Generation)
      6. People who come from broken homes are almost twice as likely
         to attempt suicide than those who do not come from broken homes.
         (Velez-Cohen, Suicidal Behavior and Ideation in a Community 
         Sample of Children Journal of the American Academy of Child and
         Adolescent Psychiatry 1988)

   E. SPIRITUALLY...
      1. Religious worship, which has been linked to better health,
         longer marriages, and better family life, drops after the 
         parents divorce.  (Patrick Fagan, Ph.D. and Robert Rector, The
         Effects Of Divorce In America, June 2000)
      2. Many young people from divorced families "experience a loss of
         trust that affects their belief in God - making them overall 
         much less religious than their peers from intact families," 
         (Elizabeth Marquardt of the Institute for American Values and
         Professor Norval Glenn of the University of Texas, Between Two
         Worlds: The Inner Lives of Children of Divorce)
      3. Children of divorce are also "much less likely to say their
         mother and father taught them how to pray and prayed with them -
         and are much more likely to say they doubt the sincerity of 
         their parents' religious beliefs, do not share their parents'
         values, and to say there are things their parents have done that
         they find hard to forgive." (ibid.)

[There is also the "sleeper effect", where adult children have a
resurgence of anxiety, fear, guilt, and anger they had suppressed for
many years.  Truly, divorce is "treacherous"!  But not just for children...]

II. EFFECTS OF DIVORCE ON SPOUSES

   A. MENTALLY...
      1. Men and women both suffer a decline in mental health following
         divorce, but researchers have found that women are more greatly
         affected. Some of the mental health indicators affected by 
         divorce include depression, hostility, self-acceptance, personal
         growth and positive relations with others. (Nadine F. Marks and
         James D. Lambert, "Marital Status Continuity and Change among 
         Young and Midlife Adults: Longitudinal Effects on Psychological
         Well-being," Journal of Family Issues 19, 1998)
      2. A recent study found those who were unhappy but stay married
         were more likely to be happy five years later than those who 
         divorced. (Linda Waite and Maggie Gallagher, The Case for 
         Marriage (New York: Doubleday, 2000)

   B. PHYSICALLY...
      1. Life expectancies for divorced men and women are significantly
         lower than for married people (who have the longest life 
         expectancies) (Robert Coombs, "Marital Status and Personal Well-
         Being: A Literature Review," 1991)
      2. The health consequences of divorce are so severe that a Yale
         researcher concluded that "being divorced and a nonsmoker is 
         [only] slightly less dangerous than smoking a pack a day and 
         staying married." (Harold J. Morowitz, "Hiding in the Hammond 
         Report," 1975)
      3. After a diagnosis of cancer, married people are most likely to
         recover, while the divorced are least likely to recover, 
         indicating that the emotional trauma of divorce has a long-term 
         impact on the physical health of the body. (James S. Goodwin,
         William C. Hunt, Charles R. Key and Jonathan M. Sarmet, "The 
         Effect of Marital Status on Stage, Treatment, and Survival of 
         Cancer Patients," Journal of the American Medical Association 
         258, 1987)

   C. FINANCIALLY...
      1. Families with children that were not poor before the divorce
         see their income drop as much as 50 percent. Almost 50 percent 
         of the parents with children that are going through a divorce 
         move into poverty after the divorce.  (Patrick Fagan, Ph.D. and
         Robert Rector, The Effects Of Divorce In America, June 2000)
      2. Studies show that women experiencing divorce face roughly a 30
         percent decline in the standard of living they enjoyed while 
         married and men show a 10 percent decline. The consistency of 
         this finding caused one researcher to conclude: "However 
         'prepared' for marital disruption women increasingly may be, 
         they are not prepared in ways sufficient to cushion the economic
          cost." (Pamela J. Smock, "The Economic Costs of Marital 
         Disruption for Young Women over the Past Two Decades." 
         Demography 30, 1993)

   D. SPIRITUALLY...
      1. Jesus taught there is only one ground for divorce and
         remarriage:  fornication - Mt 19:9
      2. That divorce and remarriage for any other reason results in
         adultery - Mt 19:9
      3. Those who divorce their spouses for a reason other than
         fornication, cause them to commit adultery! - Mt 5:32
         a. Either by putting them in a situation where they are likely
            to commit fornication
         b. Or by putting them in a situation where they might enter an
            unscriptural marriage
      4. Those who commit fornication or adultery as a result of
         unlawful divorce or remarriage will not inherit the kingdom of 
         heaven, unless they repent! - 1Co 6:9-11; Ga 5:19-21; He 13:4

CONCLUSION

1. My purpose is not to pile guilt on those who are divorced...
   a. They know first-hand the terrible consequences of divorce on
      their families and themselves
   b. They need our understanding and help to make the best of a
      difficult situation

2. My prayer is this lesson will serve as a cautionary tale...
   a. That divorce is a treacherous and violent act for all those involved
   b. We need to teach our children what God has spoken and society is
      still learning about divorce

May God help those suffering from the tragedy of divorce, and may God
help us if we do not warn our families and our society of the terrible
consequences of divorce...!

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

 

"The Abundance of Everything" by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=4834

"The Abundance of Everything"

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

Q:

 Isn’t America’s wealth an indication that the nation is pleasing to God?

A:

There’s no question that America’s unprecedented affluence and technological superiority have been the direct result of God showering the country with His blessings for over 200 years (Psalm 33:12). However, we must not think even for a moment that He will continue His favor indefinitely if we, as a nation, veer from the principles of Christian morality on which the Republic was founded. One cannot assume that since national existence remains intact and the bulk of the populace continues to enjoy lavish physical comforts that God is pleased or that He has no intention of “pulling the plug.” Indeed, tragically, America would seem to have entered the same phase of national status which God warned would one day characterize Israel of old if they jettisoned God’s commands and decrees from their lives.

Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you (Deuteronomy 28:47-48, emp. added).

If there was ever an accurate description of America’s condition, it would be that we enjoy “the abundance of everything.” Yet great spiritual poverty has spread like a scourge across the land. The abundance that Americans wallow in everyday should propel them to live godly lives before the great Governor of the Universe. Sadly, however, much of the population is rushing headlong down the precipice of moral depravity, wanton luxury, hedonism, and irreligion. We should fully expect the same outcome (2 Kings 17 and 25). Even as God expressed through the prophet Zechariah:

Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Execute true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother.” But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear…refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent…. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts…. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate (7:8-14, emp. added).

America has most certainly been “the pleasant land.” But she can be made desolate—if God wills.

"Classic" Responses from Evolutionists by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=1443

"Classic" Responses from Evolutionists

by	Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Through the years, evolutionists have been presented with an abundant amount of evidence that points toward the Creation model and away from the evolution model. Nearly every time, however, they have rejected the available facts presented to them, deciding rather to embrace their theory in spite of the facts. Consider a few of the many tenuous responses that evolutionists have given to the evidence presented to them in opposition to the evolutionary geologic timetable.

(1) In an attempt to explain away “human-like footprints” embedded in 250-million-year-old coal veins in Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and westward toward the Rocky Mountains, Albert G. Ingalls (the state geologist of Kentucky) could muster only the following explanation.

If man, or even his ape ancestor, or even the ape ancestor’s early mammal ancestor, existed as far back as in the Carboniferous period in any shape, then the whole science of geology is so completely wrong that all geologists will resign their jobs and take up truck driving. Hence, for the present at least, science rejects the attractive explanation that man made these mysterious prints in the mud of the Carboniferous period with his feet (1940, 162:14, emp. added; see also, Wilder-Smith, 1970, p. 300).

Evolutionary scientists still are rejecting the “attractive explanation”—i.e., the obvious fact—that these prints are human footprints.

(2) In attempting to explain away how two trilobites were found fossilized inside of a human sandal print in Antelope Springs, Utah, in 1968, evolutionists have asserted that the print is merely a spall (cracking or chipping) pattern in the rock (see Conrad, 1981, 4:30-33). They do not question the authenticity of the trilobite fossils, yet they reject the interpretation that these trilobites are found inside a human sandal print. One wonders what kind of explanation they have for the stitching that is visible along the edges of the sandal print?

(3) During the summer of 2004, while I was visiting the Natural Bridges National Monument in southeast Utah, I asked one of the staff members at the visitor’s center how scientists explain the presence of an antiquated dinosaur petroglyph at the base of Kachina Bridge. Her response: “They don’t really want to explain it.” Truth be told, if I were an evolutionist, I would not want to explain it either. This piece of evidence blatantly contradicts their timetable. According to the theory of evolution, humans never lived with dinosaurs. But if humans never saw living dinosaurs, how did the Anasazis, who inhabited southeastern Utah long before dinosaur fossils were found in modern times, carve such an accurate picture of a dinosaur onto the side of a rock wall?

If the responses by evolutionists to the mountain of evidence that points toward the Creation model were not so pitiful and potentially soul damaging, they would be somewhat comical. To think that some men and women who call themselves “scientists” actually reject facts of science in order to embrace the evolutionary theory is revolting. May humanity recognize that God has left testimony of His work in Creation all around us (cf. Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20).

“Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves” (Psalm 100:3).

“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:8-9).

No evolutionists will ever be able to explain away these truths!

REFERENCES

Conrad, Ernest C. (1981), “Tripping Over a Trilobite: A Study of the Meister Tracks,”Creation/Evolution, 4:30-33.

Ingalls, Albert G. (1940), “The Carboniferous Mystery,” Scientific American, 162:14, January.

Wilder-Smith, A.E. (1970), Man’s Origin, Man’s Destiny (Wheaton, IL: Harold Shaw Publishers).

“Abiogenesis is Irrelevant to Evolution” by Jeff Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1631

“Abiogenesis is Irrelevant to Evolution”

by	Jeff Miller, Ph.D.

The Law of Biogenesis tells us that in nature, life comes only from life of its kind (Miller, 2012). Therefore, abiogenesis (i.e., life arising from non-living materials) is impossible, according to the scientific evidence. How then can atheistic theories like Darwinian evolution be considered acceptable? There is a growing trend among evolutionists today to attempt to sidestep the problem of abiogenesis by contending that evolution has nothing to do with the origin of life, but rather is a theory which starts with life already in existence and explains the origin of all species from that original life form. However, this approach is merely wishful thinking—an effort to avoid the logical import of the Law of Biogenesis.

Historically, evolutionists have recognized that abiogenesis is a fundamental assumption inherent in evolutionary theory, and intuitively must be so. In 1960, British evolutionary physiologist, G.A. Kerkut, listed abiogenesis as the first assumption in a list of non-provable assumptions upon which evolution is founded. “The first assumption is that non-living things gave rise to living material, i.e., spontaneous generation occurred” (Kerkut, 1960, p. 6). Evolutionary theory is an attempt to explain the origin of species through natural means—without supernatural Creation. Logically, unless you concede the existence of God and subscribe to theistic evolution in order to explain the origin of life (a position that has been shown to be unsustainable, cf. Thompson, 2000), abiogenesis must have originally occurred in order to commence the process of Darwinian evolution. Abiogenesis is required by evolution as the starting point.

Further, atheistic evolutionary geologist, Robert Hazen, who received his doctoral degree from Harvard, admitted that he assumes abiogenesis occurred. In his lecture series, Origins of Life, he says, “In this lecture series I make a basic assumption that life emerged by some kind of natural process. I propose that life arose by a sequence of events that are completely consistent with natural laws of chemistry and physics” (2005, emp. added). Again, evolution is an attempt to explain life through natural means, and abiogenesis must go hand-in-hand with such a theory. Hazen further stated that in his assumption of abiogenesis, he is “like most other scientists” (2005). It makes perfect sense for atheistic evolutionists to admit their belief in abiogenesis. Without abiogenesis in place, there is no starting point for atheistic evolution to occur. However, many evolutionists do not want to admit such a belief too loudly, since such a belief has absolutely no scientific evidence to support it. It is a blind faith—a religious dogma.

It is also true that atheists themselves use the term “evolution” as a generalized catchall word encompassing all materialistic origin models, including those dealing with the origin of the cosmos, not just the origin of species. A simple Google search of the keywords, “cosmic evolution,” illustrates that contention. Consider, for example, the title of Harvard University astrophysicist Eric Chaisson’s Web site: “Cosmic Evolution: From Big Bang to Humankind” (2012). Consider also the comments of NASA chief historian, Steven Dick: “Cosmic evolution begins…with the formation of stars and planetary systems, proceeds…to primitive and complex life, and culminates with intelligence, technology and astronomers…contemplating the universe…. This story of the life of the universe, and our place in it, is known as cosmic evolution” (2005). If atheism were true, in this mythical story of how the Universe evolved from nothing to everything, abiogenesis must have occurred somewhere along the way. Thus, abiogenesis is a fundamental, implied phenomenon of evolutionary theory. Creationists are merely using atheistic evolutionists’ terms in the same way they use them.

The truth is, one cannot logically commence a study of Life Science or Biology—studies which are intimately linked with the theory of evolution by the bulk of the scientific community today—without first studying the origin of that life which allegedly evolved from a single-celled organism into the various forms of life on Earth today. Biology and Life Science textbooks today, with almost unanimity, include a discussion of biogenesis, abiogenesis (ironically, discussing the work of Pasteur, Spallanzani, and Redi, who disproved the theory of abiogenesis), and extensive discussions of evolutionary theory. The evolutionists themselves inevitably couple Biology and Life Science with evolution, as though they are one and the same. But a study of life—biology—must have a starting point. So, evolutionists themselves link the problem of abiogenesis to evolution. If the evolutionary community wishes to separate the study of biology from evolution—a position I would strongly recommend—then the evolutionist might be able to put his head in the sand and ignore the abiogenesis problem, but not while the evolutionist couples evolution so intimately with biology.

The reality is that abiogenesis stands alongside evolutionary theory as a fundamental plank of atheism and will remain there. The two are intimately linked and stand or fall together. It is time for the naturalist to forthrightly admit that his religious belief in evolution is based on a blind acceptance of an unscientific pheonomenon.

REFERENCES

Chaisson, Eric (2012), “Cosmic Evolution: From Big Bang to Humankind,” Harvard College Observatory, https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~ejchaisson/cosmic_evolution/docs/splash.html.

Dick, Steven J. (2005), “Why We Explore: Our Place in the Universe,” NASA,http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/whyweexplore/Why_We_13.html. 

Hazen, Robert (2005), Origins of Life, audio-taped lecture (Chantilly, VA: The Teaching Company).

Kerkut, George A. (1960), The Implications of Evolution (London: Pergamon).

Miller, Jeff (2012), “The Law of Biogenesis,” Reason & Revelation, 32[1]:2-11, January,http://www.apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=1018&article=1722.

Thompson, Bert (2000), Creation Compromises (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press).

From Jim McGuiggan... What atoned for sin? (2)

What atoned for sin? (2)

The penal substitution theory of atonement is relatively simple. Penal means related to suffering and "substitution" (in this case) means someone suffers punishment in the place of the guilty who are due the punishment. X is guilty and deserves punishment but Y offers to bear his punishment for him, is punished with the required amount of punishment and X is acquitted and goes unpunished.

Here's how it works: humans sin, breaking God's holy law and they must be punished to the fullest extent of the law or the law is despised. God can't allow that. But if they were punished to the fullest extent of the holy law they would all perish eternally and God doesn't want them all to perish eternally. So he transfers human sin on to Jesus and punishes him with the punishment that was due the sinners and since the demand of the holy law that punishment take place is satisfied, the sinners are pronounced acquitted and can't be punished.

If God decided to punish sinners for their sin after Jesus bore the required punishment it would be an insult to Jesus and his cross experience and it would be something like "double jeopardy"; and heaven forbid, we can't have that. It follows, then, that all those for whom Jesus was the punished substitute can never be punished for their sins.

There are too many difficulties involved in the theory and we can see this by James Packer's vague definition of it; so vague and general is his definition that I could agree with it and I don't even believe the penal substitution theory. Oh well.

In any case, if all the sin and sins of sinners were transferred off them on to Jesus and he was punished to the full extent of the law (though he didn't perish eternally!) we have to conclude that universalism or limited atonement is true.

If he was punished for every human without exception then no human can be lost—universalism. The only other viable option is that he was punished for some sinners—limited atonement. (We're back again at the worst face of Reformed doctrine.)

The theory misses the point anyway—punishment doesn't result in "forgiveness". To punish a criminal with the full demand of the law for his crime means we've exhausted the demand of the law; it has nothing more against him. Imagine after his serving twenty years for robbery with violence—the full demand of the law—we tell him, "You're now forgiven!"  Punishment doesn't atone for sin! It's precisely because the crime isn't atoned for, it's precisely because he wasn't forgiven that the criminal did twenty years in prison. Some will suffer eternal punishment precisely because their sin wasn't atoned and because they weren't forgiven.

Punishment under the right circumstances will satisfy the demands of the law but it doesn't bring reconciliation or forgiveness. It might aim for reconciliation and forgiveness but punishment does not reconcile and since God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ's suffering you can be sure he wasn't punishing him.

In any case, punishment of the known innocent is immoral! God wouldn't dream of "punishing" anyone he knows to be innocent and how much less do you think he would punish Jesus?

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, theabidingword.com.

From Gary... Halos, growth and humility

April fools composite

(http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html)

At first I thought this was an April fools prank, but then I learned it was real.  Actually, this is really two pictures taken 10 hours apart at the same location. The halos around the sun and moon are caused by ice crystals. Cool, isn't it? Now we both know what its all about. And then, there is this lesson from Jesus...

Mark, Chapter 4 (WEB)
  26  He said, “The Kingdom of God is as if a man should cast seed on the earth,   27  and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he doesn’t know how.   28  For the earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.  29  But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” 

How does the kingdom grow? The answer is a comparison to a sower sowing seed (see also Matthew chapter 13:3 ff.). It grows day and night (continually, like the ice halo in the picture). Exactly how this is done is a mystery, but I do know that the Word of God interacts with the intellect, will and life of us humans and causes growth. And this happens continually.

So, be patient with others, for perhaps they just haven't grown as much as you.  Humm, perhaps your "halo" is still growing as well, so be humble. Are you listening, Gary?

From Gary... Bible Reading April 3

Bible Reading  

April 3

The World English Bible

Apr. 3

Leviticus 23, 24

Lev 23:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 23:2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'The set feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts.

Lev 23:3 " 'Six days shall work be done: but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no manner of work. It is a Sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwellings.

Lev 23:4 " 'These are the set feasts of Yahweh, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their appointed season.

Lev 23:5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is Yahweh's Passover.

Lev 23:6 On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to Yahweh. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.

Lev 23:7 In the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.

Lev 23:8 But you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation: you shall do no regular work.' "

Lev 23:9 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 23:10 "Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its the harvest, then you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest:

Lev 23:11 and he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.

Lev 23:12 On the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb without blemish a year old for a burnt offering to Yahweh.

Lev 23:13 The meal offering with it shall be two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire to Yahweh for a pleasant aroma; and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin.

Lev 23:14 You shall eat neither bread, nor roasted grain, nor fresh grain, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God. This is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Lev 23:15 " 'You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be completed:

Lev 23:16 even to the next day after the seventh Sabbath you shall number fifty days; and you shall offer a new meal offering to Yahweh.

Lev 23:17 You shall bring out of your habitations two loaves of bread for a wave offering made of two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour. They shall be baked with yeast, for first fruits to Yahweh.

Lev 23:18 You shall present with the bread seven lambs without blemish a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to Yahweh, with their meal offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of a sweet aroma to Yahweh.

Lev 23:19 You shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings.

Lev 23:20 The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before Yahweh, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to Yahweh for the priest.

Lev 23:21 You shall make proclamation on the same day: there shall be a holy convocation to you; you shall do no regular work. This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

Lev 23:22 " 'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap into the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest: you shall leave them for the poor, and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.' "

Lev 23:23 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 23:24 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest to you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.

Lev 23:25 You shall do no regular work; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.' "

Lev 23:26 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 23:27 "However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.

Lev 23:28 You shall do no manner of work in that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before Yahweh your God.

Lev 23:29 For whoever it is who shall not deny himself in that same day; shall be cut off from his people.

Lev 23:30 Whoever it is who does any manner of work in that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.

Lev 23:31 You shall do no manner of work: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Lev 23:32 It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath."

Lev 23:33 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 23:34 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say, 'On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tents for seven days to Yahweh.

Lev 23:35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation: you shall do no regular work.

Lev 23:36 Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. It is a solemn assembly; you shall do no regular work.

Lev 23:37 " 'These are the appointed feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh, a burnt offering, and a meal offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, each on its own day;

Lev 23:38 besides the Sabbaths of Yahweh, and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give to Yahweh.

Lev 23:39 " 'So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruits of the land, you shall keep the feast of Yahweh seven days: on the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.

Lev 23:40 You shall take on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God seven days.

Lev 23:41 You shall keep it a feast to Yahweh seven days in the year: it is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall keep it in the seventh month.

Lev 23:42 You shall dwell in booths seven days. All who are native-born in Israel shall dwell in booths,

Lev 23:43 that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.' "

Lev 23:44 Moses declared to the children of Israel the appointed feasts of Yahweh.

Lev 24:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 24:2 "Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.

Lev 24:3 Outside of the veil of the Testimony, in the Tent of Meeting, shall Aaron keep it in order from evening to morning before Yahweh continually: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.

Lev 24:4 He shall keep in order the lamps on the pure gold lampstand before Yahweh continually.

Lev 24:5 "You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenth parts of an ephah shall be in one cake.

Lev 24:6 You shall set them in two rows, six on a row, on the pure gold table before Yahweh.

Lev 24:7 You shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be to the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire to Yahweh.

Lev 24:8 Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before Yahweh continually. It is on the behalf of the children of Israel an everlasting covenant.

Lev 24:9 It shall be for Aaron and his sons; and they shall eat it in a holy place: for it is most holy to him of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire by a perpetual statute."

Lev 24:10 The son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and the son of the Israelite woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp.

Lev 24:11 The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name, and cursed; and they brought him to Moses. His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.

Lev 24:12 They put him in custody, until the will of Yahweh should be declared to them.

Lev 24:13 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 24:14 "Bring out of the camp him who cursed; and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.

Lev 24:15 You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.

Lev 24:16 He who blasphemes the name of Yahweh, he shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him: the foreigner as well as the native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

Lev 24:17 " 'He who strikes any man mortally shall surely be put to death.

Lev 24:18 He who strikes an animal mortally shall make it good, life for life.

Lev 24:19 If anyone injures his neighbor; as he has done, so shall it be done to him:

Lev 24:20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has injured someone, so shall it be done to him.

Lev 24:21 He who kills an animal shall make it good; and he who kills a man shall be put to death.

Lev 24:22 You shall have one kind of law, for the foreigner as well as the native-born: for I am Yahweh your God.' "

Lev 24:23 Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they brought forth him who had cursed out of the camp, and stoned him with stones. The children of Israel did as Yahweh commanded Moses.

 Apr. 2, 3

Luke 3

Luk 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

Luk 3:2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.

Luk 3:3 He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins.

Luk 3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.

Luk 3:5 Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will become straight, and the rough ways smooth.

Luk 3:6 All flesh will see God's salvation.' "

Luk 3:7 He said therefore to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, "You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Luk 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and don't begin to say among yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father;' for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones!

Luk 3:9 Even now the axe also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doesn't bring forth good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire."

Luk 3:10 The multitudes asked him, "What then must we do?"

Luk 3:11 He answered them, "He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise."

Luk 3:12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what must we do?"

Luk 3:13 He said to them, "Collect no more than that which is appointed to you."

Luk 3:14 Soldiers also asked him, saying, "What about us? What must we do?" He said to them, "Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages."

Luk 3:15 As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ,

Luk 3:16 John answered them all, "I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the latchet of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire,

Luk 3:17 whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Luk 3:18 Then with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people,

Luk 3:19 but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done,

Luk 3:20 added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison.

Luk 3:21 Now it happened, when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened,

Luk 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying "You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased."

Luk 3:23 Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,

Luk 3:24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

Luk 3:25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,

Luk 3:26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah,

Luk 3:27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,

Luk 3:28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er,

Luk 3:29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

Luk 3:30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim,

Luk 3:31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

Luk 3:32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,

Luk 3:33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Aram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,

Luk 3:34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

Luk 3:35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,

Luk 3:36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

Luk 3:37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,

Luk 3:38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.