Monday, June 25, 2012

Sirach Honours King David (and Solomon) and Nathan



 

Apocrypha: Sirach Chapter 45

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25 According to the covenant made with David son of Jesse, of the tribe of Juda, that the inheritance of the king should be to his posterity alone: so the inheritance of Aaron should also be unto his seed.

26 God give you wisdom in your heart to judge his people in righteousness, that their good things be not abolished, and that their glory may endure for ever.

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11 And concerning the judges, every one by name, whose heart went not a whoring, nor departed from the Lord, let their memory be blessed.

12 Let their bones flourish out of their place, and let the name of them that were honoured be continued upon their children.

13 Samuel, the prophet of the Lord, beloved of his Lord, established a kingdom, and anointed princes over his people.

14 By the law of the Lord he judged the congregation, and the Lord had respect unto Jacob.

15 By his faithfulness he was found a true prophet, and by his word he was known to be faithful in vision.

16 He called upon the mighty Lord, when his enemies pressed upon him on every side, when he offered the sucking lamb.

17 And the Lord thundered from heaven, and with a great noise made his voice to be heard.

18 And he destroyed the rulers of the Tyrians, and all the princes cf the Philistines.

19 And before his long sleep he made protestations in the sight of the Lord and his anointed, I have not taken any man's goods, so much as a shoe: and no man did accuse him.

20 And after his death he prophesied, and shewed the king his end, and lifted up his voice from the earth in prophecy, to blot out the wickedness of the people.


Apocrypha: Sirach Chapter 47


1 And after him rose up Nathan to prophesy in the time of David.

2 As is the fat taken away from the peace offering, so was David chosen out of the children of Israel.

3 He played with lions as with kids, and with bears as with lambs.

4 Slew he not a giant, when he was yet but young? and did he not take away reproach from the people, when he lifted up his hand with the stone in the sling, and beat down the boasting of Goliath?

5 For he called upon the most high Lord; and he gave him strength in his right hand to slay that mighty warrior, and set up the horn of his people.

6 So the people honoured him with ten thousands, and praised him in the blessings of the Lord, in that he gave him a crown of glory.

7 For he destroyed the enemies on every side, and brought to nought the Philistines his adversaries, and brake their horn in sunder unto this day.

8 In all his works he praised the Holy One most high with words of glory; with his whole heart he sung songs, and loved him that made him.

9 He set singers also before the altar, that by their voices they might make sweet melody, and daily sing praises in their songs.

10 He beautified their feasts, and set in order the solemn times until the end, that they might praise his holy name, and that the temple might sound from morning.

11 The Lord took away his sins, and exalted his horn for ever: he gave him a covenant of kings, and a throne of glory in Israel.

12 After him rose up a wise son, and for his sake he dwelt at large.

13 Solomon reigned in a peaceable time, and was honoured; for God made all quiet round about him, that he might build an house in his name, and prepare his sanctuary for ever.

14 How wise wast thou in thy youth and, as a flood, filled with understanding!

15 Thy soul covered the whole earth, and thou filledst it with dark parables.

16 Thy name went far unto the islands; and for thy peace thou wast beloved.

17 The countries marvelled at thee for thy songs, and proverbs, and parables, and interpretations.

18 By the name of the Lord God, which is called the Lord God of Israel, thou didst gather gold as tin and didst multiply silver as lead.

19 Thou didst bow thy loins unto women, and by thy body thou wast brought into subjection.

20 Thou didst stain thy honour, and pollute thy seed: so that thou broughtest wrath upon thy children, and wast grieved for thy folly.

21 So the kingdom was divided, and out of Ephraim ruled a rebellious kingdom.

22 But the Lord will never leave off his mercy, neither shall any of his works perish, neither will he abolish the posterity of his elect, and the seed of him that loveth him he will not take away: wherefore he gave a remnant unto Jacob, and out of him a root unto David.

23 Thus rested Solomon with his fathers, and of his seed he left behind him Roboam, even the foolishness of the people, and one that had no understanding, who turned away the people through his counsel. There was also Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, and shewed Ephraim the way of sin:

24 And their sins were multiplied exceedingly, that they were driven out of the land.

25 For they sought out all wickedness, till the vengeance came upon them.


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And Paul, Hebrews 11 


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32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning;[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.


39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

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Thursday, June 21, 2012

Slaying Giants: Preparing for Greatness






Chris Padgett is a successful singer and songwriter, a sought-after speaker at diocesan events around the country, a published author and a passionate scholar. In this exciting talk, Chris shows how each of us are called to change the world, to defeat giants, and to run the race in a manner so that we’ll win. His words will inspire you not to let fear paralyze your heart, because you are not in this alone.


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Taken from: http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/slaying-giants-preparing-for-greatness





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How to Apply our Faith to our Families

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Thursday, June 14, 2012

The Wisdom of King David



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The Bible has much to say about King David, both good and not so good. Among the sins of this man, who, the Bible says had a heart after God, was adultery and murder of the husband of the woman he seduced. David was a sinner. Most Christians leaders today would not be able to maintain their leadership role while committing the kind of sins David committed.


David was an adulterer and a murder. David also was a man after the heart of God. In 2 Sam. 16:5-13 we come across a fascinating scene. Open your Bibles and read the account. we see him with his army coming back from a battle. All of a sudden, a Benjamite named Shimei came up to David and began to curse him and throw stones and dirt at him. One of David's generals asked David to allow him to cut the man's heard off. David's basic response was: "Leave him alone, maybe God is telling him to curse me. Maybe God will bless me for putting up with this."




How often does God send a Shimei into our life to see what our response will be? Do we respond with the wisdom of David, or do we respond with, "Off with his head!" Take a few moments to reflect on this passage of Scripture and grow. There may be something in David's heart we can glean.

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