Anything Finely Tuned Demands a Fine Tuner by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=2771

Anything Finely Tuned Demands a Fine Tuner

by	Eric Lyons, M.Min.

I have owned two new cars in my lifetime, both of which were fine-tuned machines. The pistons moved with remarkable precision. The spark plugs repeatedly ignited the gasoline at an intended time. Just the right amount of oxygen was mixed with the fuel for ideal performance. The front end was perfectly aligned. The tires were properly balanced. Thousands of intended actions took place at precisely the right times so that I could swiftly and safely drive from place to place, time and again. Until it was totaled in 2007, my 1997 Saturn SL1 ran amazingly well, and my 2008 Toyota Corolla is still functioning as a fine-tuned machine.

A fine-tuned machine demands a fine-tuner. Everyone knows that cars and computers, pianos and projectors all require engineers, technicians, and tuners for them to function properly. New machines are built by intelligent people. Older machines receive tune-ups by intelligent tuners. Surely, no one believes that tune-ups happen by accident. How can anything be finely tuned without a fine tuner?

Atheistic evolutionists continually find themselves in a conundrum, because of their admittance that our Universe is fine-tuned. If the physical laws of the Universe (e.g., gravity) are merely “inherent in the physical universe” and simply evolved to their current status by time and chance along with everything else that exists (Davies, 2007, 194[2610]:33), the question arises, “Why, then, is the Universe so fine-tuned?” Why do planets and moons not crash into each other during their orbits? How can astronomers predict with amazing accuracy where a planet will be in the distant future? Why is the force of gravity on Earth just right for life to exist?

In a recent New Scientist cover story about gravity, Michael Brooks described the force as strange, mysterious, and puzzling. He insisted that one reason gravity does not make sense (to him) is because it is “fine-tuned”: “If it [gravity—EL] were a tiny bit stronger, none of us would be here to scoff at its puny nature” (2009, 202[2712]:30, emp. added). Regarding the expansion of space (after thealleged Big Bang) and the pull of gravity, Brooks wrote:

It turns out that the struggle between these two was balanced on a knife-edge. If the expansion of space had overwhelmed the pull of gravity in the newborn universe, stars, galaxies and humans would never have been able to form. If, on the other hand, gravity had been much stronger, stars and galaxies might have formed, but they would have quickly collapsed in on themselves and each other. What’s more, the gravitational distortion of space-time would have folded up the universe in a big crunch. Our cosmic history could have been over by now.

Only the middle ground, where the expansion and the gravitational strength balance...allows life to form (p. 31, emp. added).

Brooks then asked, “Why does G [the designation for the gravitational constant—EL] have the value that allowed life to form in the cosmos?” (p. 31). His answer: “The simple but unsatisfying answer is that we could not be here to observe it if it were any different. As to the deeper answer—no one knows....We have never explained any basic constant of nature” (p. 31, emp. added).

Evolutionists like Michael Brooks admit that “no one knows” why the force of gravity is so perfect as to allow life to exist on Earth. Evolutionists acknowledge: “We have never explained any basic constant in nature.” Atheistic evolutionists allege that the Universe and its laws are the result of mindless, naturalistic, random processes, yet at the same time they contend that it is “uniquely hospitable,” “remarkable,” and “ordered in an intelligible way” (Davies, pp. 30,34). In a New Scientist article titled “Laying Down the Laws,” Paul Davies of Arizona State University admitted the many examples of “uncanny bio-friendly ‘coincidences’” and “fine-tuned properties” of the Universe (p. 30). He then wrote: “Like Baby Bear’s porridge in the story of Goldilocks, our universe seems ‘just right’ for life. It looks, to use astronomer Fred Hoyle’s dramatic description, as if ‘a super-intellect has been monkeying with
physics’” (p. 30).

In truth, it “looks...as if a super-intellect” lies behind the precise, fine-tuned, law-driven Universe, because there is a Super-intellect behind it all. The simple, satisfying answer for why the Universe works so well, and for why Earth is so perfect for life’s existence, is because the Universe has a fine-tuner. Just as a fine-tuned automobile demands a tuner, so our fine-tuned Universe demands a designer. Nothing makes sense if an ultimate Tuner does not exist, but everything makes sense if He does. Indeed, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth” (Genesis 1:1). He ordained the moon and the stars. The heavens are the work of His fingers (Psalm 8:3). They declare His glory (Psalm 19:1). “He upholds all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3, NASB). The infinite, eternal Creator “is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17). He is the ultimate tuner of all that is finely tuned.

REFERENCES

Brooks, Michael (2009), “Seven Mysteries of Gravity,” New Scientist, 202[2712]:28-32, June 13.

Davies, Paul (2007), “Laying Down the Laws,” New Scientist, 194[2610]:30-34, June 29.

Born Among History by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=953

Born Among History

by	Eric Lyons, M.Min.

How do we know that the New Testament is not a book of myths and lies? How can people born 1,900 years this side of its completion have total confidence in the New Testament’s accuracy? What is it that causes so many of us to believe in the truthfulness of this book?

One thing that makes the New Testament such a unique work is how many times the events recorded therein are verified by other independent historical witnesses. Repeatedly, history has shown itself to be an ally, rather than an enemy, to the twenty-seven books that make up the New Testament. As a person reads through these books, he will find names of kings and queens, governors and priests. He will read of cities and villages, and sometimes even learn of the roads and passageways that connected them. The New Testament was born among historical people, places, and events, which allows twenty-first-century readers opportunities to inquire about its trustworthiness.

Consider just one example. As a non-Christian reads through the New Testament book of Acts, he comes to the account where Herod is addressing a group of people from Tyre and Sidon (Acts 12:20-23). In verses 21-23, he reads:

So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.

Perhaps the person reading this account begins struggling with whether or not “this whole Christian thing is for me,” and whether there is any evidence that corroborates the information found in the New Testament. How much more open to the truth of God’s Word might this skeptical gentlemen be if he could come in contact with the vast amount of historical data that supports the facts found therein? In this particular case, he might find it very helpful to learn that a well-educated, first-century Jewish historian by the name of Josephus gave a detailed account of Herod’s death in his work, The Antiquities of the Jews (18:8:2). Notice how the two accounts stand side by side.

• Where Luke wrote that Herod was “arrayed in royal apparel,” Josephus wrote that “he put on a garment made wholly of silver, and of a contexture truly wonderful.”
• Where Luke wrote that “the people kept shouting, ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!,’ ” Josephus mentioned that “his flatterers cried out…that he was a god; and they added, ‘Be thou merciful to us; for although we have hitherto reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall we henceforth own thee as superior to mortal nature.’ Upon this the king did neither rebuke them, nor reject their impious flattery.”
• And finally, where Luke recorded: “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died,” Josephus wrote: “A severe pain also arose in his belly, and began in a most violent manner. He therefore looked upon his friends, and said, ‘I whom you call a god, am commanded presently to depart this life….’ [H]is pain was become violent…. And when he had been quite worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, he departed this life.”

Although the accounts of Luke and Josephus were written independently, regarding the death of Herod they agree in all of the essentials.

Acts 12:20-23 represents only one of many examples in Scripture where secular history upholds its reliability. Over the past 1,900 years, the Bible has been examined more critically than any other book in the world, and yet it repeatedly is found to be historically accurate. Such accuracy surely gives the skeptic something important to consider in his examination of Scripture.

REFERENCES

Josephus, Flavius (1987 edition), Antiquities of the Jews, in The Life and Works of Flavius Josephus, transl. William Whiston (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson).

Muhammad or Jesus? by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=8&article=5135

Muhammad or Jesus?

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

Muhammad: “Those who say: Allah hath chosen a son…speak nothing but a lie” (Surah 18:4-5).

Jesus (through John): “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?... Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either” (1 John 2:22-23).

*********************

Muhammad: “Allah hath not chosen any son, nor is there any God along with Him” (Surah 23:91).

God: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5).

*********************

Muhammad: “[T]he Christians call Christ the Son of God.... Allah’s curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!” (Surah 9:30).

Jesus: “[H]e who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). “Jesus…said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’ He answered and said, ‘Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you’” (John 9:35-37).

*********************

Muhammad: “They slew him not nor crucified, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain, but Allah took him up unto Himself” (Surah 4:157-158).

Jesus: “‘And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.’ This He said, signifying by what death He would die” (John 12:32-33).

*******************

Muhammad: “[S]ay not ‘Three’—Cease! (it is) better for you!—Allah is only One God. Far is it removed from His transcendent majesty that he should have a son” (Surah 4:171-172).

Jesus: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

*********************

Muhammad: “They surely disbelieve who say: Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary…. Lo! whoso ascribeth partners unto Allah, for him Allah hath forbidden Paradise. His abode is the Fire” (Surah5:72-74).

Jesus: “[I]f you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).

*********************

Muhammad: Polygamous, having multiple wives, as many as 12 at a time.

Jesus: Remained single, devoting Himself to His divine mission.

*********************

The Jesus of the Quran: A mere human prophet, finite in his attributes, like sinful man, flawed.

The Jesus of the Bible: Perfect, infinite in all of His attributes, unlike sinful man.

*********************

Islam is focused on Muhammad, who was merely a man.

Christianity is focused on Jesus, Who was God in the flesh.

*********************

OBSERVE:

According to Islam and the Quran—

                 If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, you will be lost eternally in hell.

According to Christianity and the Bible—

                 If you do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, you will be lost eternally in hell.

Jesus said: “Unless you believe that I AM, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).

NOTE: The above verses from the Quran were taken from two celebrated Muslim translations:

Ali, Abdullah Yusuf (1934), The Qur’an (Elmhurst, NY: Tahrike Tarsile Quran), ninth edition.

Pickthall, Mohammed M. (1930), The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (New York: Mentor).

From Mark Copeland... "A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD" The Joy Of Singing

                        "A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD"

                           The Joy Of Singing

INTRODUCTION

1. Another important element of our walk with God is the act of singing praises...
   a. We spend nearly a third of our assemblies engaged in this activity
   b. It also has a place in our private devotions to God
   -- And rightly so, for it has the potential of reaping great
      spiritual benefits to those who engage in it properly

2. It is clear that those who walked with God in Old Testament times
   delighted in singing - cf. Ps 146:1-2

3. Christians were taught to respond to the goodness of God in a
   similar way - Jm 5:13

4. But there are indications in many churches which cause me to wonder
   if some have lost the joy of singing
   a. Many Christians sing with virtually no emotion
   b. Some go one step further, and do not sing at all!
   c. I have personally known Christians, who...
      1) Complained because time available for classes was taken up by
         the singing of a few hymns
      2) Will not attend a worship service if they know it will be
         devoted primarily to singing
   d. In contrast, it was common in the past for people to travel some
      distance to attend a service devoted to praising God in song

5. WHY DO SUCH CONDITIONS EXIST?  I suspect it may be a failure to appreciate:
   a. The true purpose of singing
   b. How we can get more out of singing

[In an effort to assure that we will experience the JOY of singing,
let's first examine...]

I. THE PURPOSE OF SINGING

   A. TO PRAISE THE LORD - Ac 16:25
      1. This is the most popular concept of the purpose of singing
         a. Indeed, this is certainly the idea inherent in the word "HYMN"
         b. Which comes from the Greek word HUMNOS, meaning "a song in praise of"
      2. Praising God should be "a natural" for Christians!
         a. For if David in the Old Testament reacted this way to the
            blessings God gave him ... - Ps 28:6-7
         b. How much more should we!
      3. In fact, singing is one of the "spiritual sacrifices" that we
         are to offer to God - He 13:15
         a. As "spiritual priests" we are to offer up "spiritual
            sacrifices acceptable to God" - 1Pe 2:5
         b. If we are not careful, we might be guilty of offering
            "defiled" service to God as was the case in Malachi's day!
            - cf. Mal 1:7-8, 12-13

   B. TO TEACH AND ADMONISH ONE ANOTHER - Col 3:16; Ep 5:19
      1. Our singing is not just directed toward God...
         a. Certainly, many songs are
         b. But many of the songs are directed to each other
      2. That's because many songs are designed to teach one another
         a. Teaching and admonishing us to live properly, enjoying the
            blessings of the Christian life
         b. It might even be said that "congregational singing" is
            often "congregational teaching"!
         c. Thus singing is a way that we can encourage our brethren
            and ourselves as well!

[When done properly, singing can be a wonderful blessing; but how can
we get the most out of singing?]

II. GETTING MORE OF OUR SINGING

   A. WE MUST ENGAGE THE "MIND" AS WE SING...
      1. Remember, singing is "teaching and admonishing one another"
         a. This assumes that we UNDERSTAND what we sing
         b. We must be careful that our enjoyment of singing is not
            like the way many people enjoy their popular music (liking
            the music without necessarily understanding the words)
      2. Therefore, give careful attention to the WORDS of the song

   B. WE MUST ALSO ENGAGE THE "HEART" AS WE SING...
      1. When we sing, we must do so...
         a. "with grace in our hearts" - Col 3:16
         b. "making melody in your heart" - Ep 5:19
      2. This assumes that we involve our EMOTIONS as we sing!
      3. To sing without emotion (without grace in our hearts)...
         a. Will be evident in our countenances! - Pr 15:13
         b. Is hypocritical, and condemned by Jesus! - Mt 15:7-8

[So as we sing, do so with BOTH the emotions of the heart and the
understanding of the mind.  In a further effort to assure that we
experience the "joy of singing", consider some...]

III. QUESTIONS TO EVALUATE YOUR SINGING

   A. DO YOU LIMIT THE SPHERE OF YOUR SINGING?
      1. Is your singing limited just to the public assemblies?
      2. Or do you utilize opportunities to sing at other times with
         others, or even alone?
      3. Singing, like prayer, ought to be spontaneous, arising
         whenever the circumstances call for it - cf. Ac 16:25;
         Ps 34:1-3

   B. IS THERE LACK OF EMOTION IN YOUR SINGING?
      1. Remember, singing is to involve the HEART
      2. And not with just "some" heart, but as in all that we do for
         the Lord, with "all" our hearts! - Mt 22:37
      3. When it comes time to praise the Lord, it should not be done
         "half-heartedly"
         a. Remember Mt 15:7-9
         b. "It is a great sign of mediocrity to praise always
            moderately." - Vauvenargues
      4. Not all may be talented in voice, but all can and should bless
         the Lord with their "whole being"! - Ps 103:1

   C. DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SINGING?
      1. Again, singing must also involve the MIND
      2. Some songs, though sounding beautiful, can be so complicated
         as to hinder understanding
         a. E.g., the musical arrangement can be such that one spends
            more time concentrating on the notes rather than the words
         b. E.g., the pace of the song can be so fast that we don't
            absorb the meaning of the words
         c. E.g., the words used may be unusual and not understood by
            the average singer
      3. Song leaders can perform a valuable service by being careful
         in the songs they select to lead
         a. Carefully introducing songs that may be new to the congregation
         b. Taking a moment to explain the meaning of the song or
            unusual words in it
      4. But the ultimate responsibility falls on us who sing, so we
         should make every effort to understand what we are singing

   D. DO YOU STRESS MUSICAL HARMONY TO THE DETRIMENT OF NEW TESTAMENT
      SINGING?
      1. Fortunately, God stresses making melody in our hearts over
         making harmony with our voices
      2. In a natural desire to offer beautiful praise, do you
         discourage those who might not have trained voices but still
         love to praise God with their whole being?
      3. I have occasionally seen some Christians give a criticizing
         look at others who sang "off key"
      4. But the emphasis should be on praising God in heart and mind,
         and not how it may sound to the human ear!

   E. DO YOU HINDER YOUR OWN SINGING BY WHERE YOU SIT?
      1. Sitting alone or spread out naturally discourages many from
         singing as they otherwise might
      2. People become more involved, are more uplifted, edify others
         better, when they sit together and close to the song leader
      3. One of the first steps to better singing is to sit with others
         who love to sing!

CONCLUSION

1. Have we lost the joy of singing?

2. I believe that if we could see ourselves as song leaders do, we
   might be constrained to say "yes"!

3. I hope that by reminding ourselves of the purpose of singing and how
   to get more out of it, we might rekindle this act of worship which
   can do so much for our walk with God!

4. May David's attitude, a man after God's own heart, describe our own:

      "I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
         I will sing praise to my God while I have my being."
                                   - Ps 104:33

      "Praise the Lord!
         For it is good to sing praises to our God;
         For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful."
                          - Ps 147:1

SOME QUESTIONS TO STIMULATE YOUR THINKING...

1. Which is more important when we sing, how we sound or how we feel?

2. Are we really teaching and admonishing one another in song if we
   just whisper or mouth the words?

3. Do we sing because we are happy, or are we happy because we sing?

4. Do you sing praises to God by yourself throughout the week?

5. Does your family ever sing spiritual songs together (e.g., while
   traveling in the car)?

6. Which is more unscriptural, singing with mechanical instruments, or
   singing without engaging the instrument of the heart?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

 

From Gary.... Underneath the dew...

During the last few days, I have experienced some of the most pleasant weather Florida has to offer; cool mornings and warm afternoons, accompanied by low humidity. This year, I have determined to genuinely appreciate it, because it will not be long before high temperatures and seemingly unbearable humidity arrive.   But, this morning was especially nice, with a gentle breeze and just a hint of dew on the ground. Somehow, I just knew how happy my Poodles were (well, the way they jumped around gave me a clue). After my dog-walk, I saw this picture on Google+ and instantly loved it.  Why? Well, there was something about this flower that was different- the dew. And under all that moisture, a flower of exquisite beauty that enriched my morning greatly!!! God is good!!!! The way HE provides is truly astounding!!! Consider the following passage for a moment... 

Exodus, Chapter 16 (WEB)

 11 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,  12 “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread: and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God.’” 

  13  In the evening, quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp.  14 When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground.  15 When the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, “What is it?” For they didn’t know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat.”

And "When the dew that lay had gone.."-a provision of God!!! Today, in your comings and goings, take a little time to consider the things about you and look a little deeper to see God's blessings;and then thank HIM!!! 

From Gary.... Bible Reading May 2, 3

Bible Reading   

May 2, 3

The World English Bible

May 2

Deuteronomy 19, 20

Deu 19:1 When Yahweh your God shall cut off the nations, whose land Yahweh your God gives you, and you succeed them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses;

Deu 19:2 you shall set apart three cities for you in the midst of your land, which Yahweh your God gives you to possess it.

Deu 19:3 You shall prepare you the way, and divide the borders of your land, which Yahweh your God causes you to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee there.

Deu 19:4 This is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee there and live: whoever kills his neighbor unawares, and didn't hate him in time past;

Deu 19:5 as when a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to chop wood, and his hand fetches a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle, and lights on his neighbor, so that he dies; he shall flee to one of these cities and live:

Deu 19:6 lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and strike him mortally; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he didn't hate him in time past.

Deu 19:7 Therefore I command you, saying, You shall set apart three cities for yourselves.

Deu 19:8 If Yahweh your God enlarges your border, as he has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which he promised to give to your fathers;

Deu 19:9 if you keep all this commandment to do it, which I command you this day, to love Yahweh your God, and to walk ever in his ways; then you shall add three cities more for yourselves, besides these three:

Deu 19:10 that innocent blood not be shed in the midst of your land, which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, and so blood be on you.

Deu 19:11 But if any man hates his neighbor, and lies in wait for him, and rises up against him, and strikes him mortally so that he dies, and he flees into one of these cities;

Deu 19:12 then the elders of his city shall send and bring him there, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.

Deu 19:13 Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.

Deu 19:14 You shall not remove your neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set, in your inheritance which you shall inherit, in the land that Yahweh your God gives you to possess it.

Deu 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.

Deu 19:16 If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing,

Deu 19:17 then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Yahweh, before the priests and the judges who shall be in those days;

Deu 19:18 and the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness is a false witness, and has testified falsely against his brother;

Deu 19:19 then you shall do to him as he had thought to do to his brother: so you shall put away the evil from the midst of you.

Deu 19:20 Those who remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in the midst of you.

Deu 19:21 Your eyes shall not pity; life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Deu 20:1 When you go forth to battle against your enemies, and see horses, and chariots, and a people more than you, you shall not be afraid of them; for Yahweh your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Deu 20:2 It shall be, when you draw near to the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people,

Deu 20:3 and shall tell them, Hear, Israel, you draw near this day to battle against your enemies: don't let your heart faint; don't be afraid, nor tremble, neither be scared of them;

Deu 20:4 for Yahweh your God is he who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.

Deu 20:5 The officers shall speak to the people, saying, What man is there who has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.

Deu 20:6 What man is there who has planted a vineyard, and has not used its fruit? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use its fruit.

Deu 20:7 What man is there who has pledged to be married a wife, and has not taken her? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.

Deu 20:8 The officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return to his house, lest his brother's heart melt as his heart.

Deu 20:9 It shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking to the people, that they shall appoint captains of armies at the head of the people.

Deu 20:10 When you draw near to a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace to it.

Deu 20:11 It shall be, if it makes you answer of peace, and opens to you, then it shall be, that all the people who are found therein shall become tributary to you, and shall serve you.

Deu 20:12 If it will make no peace with you, but will make war against you, then you shall besiege it:

Deu 20:13 and when Yahweh your God delivers it into your hand, you shall strike every male of it with the edge of the sword:

Deu 20:14 but the women, and the little ones, and the livestock, and all that is in the city, even all its spoil, you shall take for a prey to yourself; and you shall eat the spoil of your enemies, which Yahweh your God has given you.

Deu 20:15 Thus you shall do to all the cities which are very far off from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.

Deu 20:16 But of the cities of these peoples, that Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes;

Deu 20:17 but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; as Yahweh your God has commanded you;

Deu 20:18 that they not teach you to do after all their abominations, which they have done to their gods; so would you sin against Yahweh your God.

Deu 20:19 When you shall besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them; for you may eat of them, and you shall not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of you?

Deu 20:20 Only the trees of which you know that they are not trees for food, you shall destroy and cut them down; and you shall build bulwarks against the city that makes war with you, until it fall.

May 3

Deuteronomy 21, 22

Deu 21:1 If one be found slain in the land which Yahweh your God gives you to possess it, lying in the field, and it isn't known who has struck him;

Deu 21:2 then your elders and your judges shall come forth, and they shall measure to the cities which are around him who is slain:

Deu 21:3 and it shall be, that the city which is nearest to the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which hasn't been worked with, and which has not drawn in the yoke;

Deu 21:4 and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.

Deu 21:5 The priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them Yahweh your God has chosen to minister to him, and to bless in the name of Yahweh; and according to their word shall every controversy and every stroke be.

Deu 21:6 All the elders of that city, who are nearest to the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;

Deu 21:7 and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.

Deu 21:8 Forgive, Yahweh, your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and don't allow innocent bloodto remain in the midst of your people Israel. The blood shall be forgiven them.

Deu 21:9 So you shall put away the innocent blood from the midst of you, when you shall do that which is right in the eyes of Yahweh.

Deu 21:10 When you go forth to battle against your enemies, and Yahweh your God delivers them into your hands, and you carry them away captive,

Deu 21:11 and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you have a desire to her, and would take her to you as wife;

Deu 21:12 then you shall bring her home to your house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;

Deu 21:13 and she shall put the clothing of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in your house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that you shall go in to her, and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.

Deu 21:14 It shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall let her go where she will; but you shall not sell her at all for money, you shall not deal with her as a slave, because you have humbled her.

Deu 21:15 If a man have two wives, the one beloved, and the other hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers who was hated;

Deu 21:16 then it shall be, in the day that he causes his sons to inherit that which he has, that he may not make the son of the beloved the firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn:

Deu 21:17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that he has; for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

Deu 21:18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and, though they chasten him, will not listen to them;

Deu 21:19 then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out to the elders of his city, and to the gate of his place;

Deu 21:20 and they shall tell the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.

Deu 21:21 All the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones: so you shall put away the evil from the midst of you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Deu 21:22 If a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and you hang him on a tree;

Deu 21:23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day; for he who is hanged is accursed of God; that you don't defile your land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance.

Deu 22:1 You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide yourself from them: you shall surely bring them again to your brother.

Deu 22:2 If your brother isn't near to you, or if you don't know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall be with you until your brother seek after it, and you shall restore it to him.

Deu 22:3 So you shall do with his donkey; and so you shall do with his garment; and so you shall do with every lost thing of your brother's, which he has lost, and you have found: you may not hide yourself.

Deu 22:4 You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide yourself from them: you shall surely help him to lift them up again.

Deu 22:5 A woman shall not wear men's clothing, neither shall a man put on women's clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh your God.

Deu 22:6 If a bird's nest chance to be before you in the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the hen sitting on the young, or on the eggs, you shall not take the hen with the young:

Deu 22:7 you shall surely let the hen go, but the young you may take to yourself; that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days.

Deu 22:8 When you build a new house, then you shall make a battlement for your roof, that you don't bring blood on your house, if any man fall from there.

Deu 22:9 You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole fruit be forfeited, the seed which you have sown, and the increase of the vineyard.

Deu 22:10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Deu 22:11 You shall not wear a mixed stuff, wool and linen together.

Deu 22:12 You shall make yourselves fringes on the four borders of your cloak, with which you cover yourself.

Deu 22:13 If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and hates her,

Deu 22:14 and accuses her of shameful things, and brings up an evil name on her, and says, I took this woman, and when I came near to her, I didn't find in her the tokens of virginity;

Deu 22:15 then shall the father of the young lady, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the young lady's virginity to the elders of the city in the gate;

Deu 22:16 and the young lady's father shall tell the elders, I gave my daughter to this man to wife, and he hates her;

Deu 22:17 and behold, he has accused her of shameful things, saying, I didn't find in your daughter the tokens of virginity; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. They shall spread the garment before the elders of the city.

Deu 22:18 The elders of that city shall take the man and chastise him;

Deu 22:19 and they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver, and give them to the father of the young lady, because he has brought up an evil name on a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.

Deu 22:20 But if this thing be true, that the tokens of virginity were not found in the young lady;

Deu 22:21 then they shall bring out the young lady to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done folly in Israel, to play the prostitute in her father's house: so you shall put away the evil from the midst of you.

Deu 22:22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman: so you shall put away the evil from Israel.

Deu 22:23 If there is a young lady who is a virgin pledged to be married to a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;

Deu 22:24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones; the lady, because she didn't cry, being in the city; and the man, because he has humbled his neighbor's wife: so you shall put away the evil from the midst of you.

Deu 22:25 But if the man find the lady who is pledged to be married in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her; then the man only who lay with her shall die:

Deu 22:26 but to the lady you shall do nothing; there is in the lady no sin worthy of death: for as when a man rises against his neighbor, and kills him, even so is this matter;

Deu 22:27 for he found her in the field, the pledged to be married lady cried, and there was none to save her.

Deu 22:28 If a man find a lady who is a virgin, who is not pledged to be married, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;

Deu 22:29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the lady's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has humbled her; he may not put her away all his days.

Deu 22:30 A man shall not take his father's wife, and shall not uncover his father's skirt.

May 2, 3

Luke 18

Luk 18:1 He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray, and not give up,

Luk 18:2 saying, "There was a judge in a certain city who didn't fear God, and didn't respect man.

Luk 18:3 A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying, 'Defend me from my adversary!'

Luk 18:4 He wouldn't for a while, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God, nor respect man,

Luk 18:5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.' "

Luk 18:6 The Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge says.

Luk 18:7 Won't God avenge his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them?

Luk 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

Luk 18:9 He spoke also this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others.

Luk 18:10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector.

Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: 'God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

Luk 18:12 I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.'

Luk 18:13 But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn't even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'

Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Luk 18:15 They were also bringing their babies to him, that he might touch them. But when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

Luk 18:16 Jesus summoned them, saying, "Allow the little children to come to me, and don't hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Luk 18:17 Most certainly, I tell you, whoever doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a little child, he will in no way enter into it."

Luk 18:18 A certain ruler asked him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

Luk 18:19 Jesus asked him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good, except one-God.

Luk 18:20 You know the commandments: 'Don't commit adultery,' 'Don't murder,' 'Don't steal,' 'Don't give false testimony,' 'Honor your father and your mother.' "

Luk 18:21 He said, "I have observed all these things from my youth up."

Luk 18:22 When Jesus heard these things, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have, and distribute it to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Come, follow me."

Luk 18:23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was very rich.

Luk 18:24 Jesus, seeing that he became very sad, said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God!

Luk 18:25 For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God."

Luk 18:26 Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?"

Luk 18:27 But he said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."

Luk 18:28 Peter said, "Look, we have left everything, and followed you."

Luk 18:29 He said to them, "Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, for the Kingdom of God's sake,

Luk 18:30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life."

Luk 18:31 He took the twelve aside, and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be completed.

Luk 18:32 For he will be delivered up to the Gentiles, will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit on.

Luk 18:33 They will scourge and kill him. On the third day, he will rise again."

Luk 18:34 They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they didn't understand the things that were said.

Luk 18:35 It happened, as he came near Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the road, begging.

Luk 18:36 Hearing a multitude going by, he asked what this meant.

Luk 18:37 They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.

Luk 18:38 He cried out, "Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!"

Luk 18:39 Those who led the way rebuked him, that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "You son of David, have mercy on me!"

Luk 18:40 Standing still, Jesus commanded him to be brought to him. When he had come near, he asked him,

Luk 18:41 "What do you want me to do?" He said, "Lord, that I may see again."

Luk 18:42 Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight. Your faith has healed you."

Luk 18:43 Immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw it, praised God.