"But You are the same — and Your years will never end."
- Psalm 102:27
What a fountain of comfort is to be found in the Immutability of God! Not one ripple can disturb the calm of His unchanging nature. Were it so, He would no longer be a perfect Being — He would un-deify Himself — He would cease to be God!
Change is our portion here on earth. "They shall perish!" is the brief chronicle regarding everything on this side Heaven. The skies above us, the earth beneath us, the elements around us shall be destroyed. "All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll! The stars will fall from the sky like withered leaves from a grapevine, or shriveled figs from a fig tree!" (Isaiah 34:4)
Scenes of hallowed endearment — they have fled! Friends who sweetened our pilgrimage with their presence — they are gone! But here is a sure and safe anchorage amid the world's heaving ocean of vicissitude: "But You are the same — and Your years will never end." All is changing — but the Unchanging One! The earthly scaffolding may give way — but the living Temple remains. The reed may bend to the blast — but the living Rock spurns and outlives the storm!
How blessed, especially, to contemplate the unchangeableness of our Great High Priest, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever!" True, He is, in one sense, "changed." No longer the Man of sorrows; no longer the homeless wanderer. He is enthroned amid the glories of Heaven. Seraphs praise Him — Saints adore Him. But His Heart knows no change. His ascension glories have not obliterated His tender human sympathies. We can think of Him receiving an outcast sinner, or stilling the storm, or standing at the gate of Nain, or weeping tears of pity over a lost city, or tears of sympathy over a buried friend — and write over all these, "You are the same!" The name which He bequeathed by angels to His Church until He comes again is, "that same Jesus!" His own Patmos title is His memorial for all time, "I AM He who lives!"
Believer! has He ever seemed to change towards you? Are you even now mourning over the withdrawal of that countenance whose smile is heaven? Are you saying in the bitterness of your spirit, "Has the Lord forgotten to be gracious?" The change is with yourself — and not with your God. Behind the clouds of your own departure, the Sun of His love shines brightly as ever. "He faints not, neither is weary."
Or, it may be, you are laboring under severe trials. The hand of your God may be heavy upon you. The secret thought may be harbored that some tear might have been spared; that your chastisement might have been less severe — that your bereavement, with its dark accompaniment, might have been mitigated or averted. Look upwards and take the Psalmist's antidote as your own, "I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High God." Think that the same Hand which for you was nailed to the Cross — is now pleading for you on the Throne; ordering and controlling every trial; and over every dark providence writing the unanswerable challenge, "He who spared not His own Son — but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"
Oh! thus pillowing your head on the Immutability of Jesus, amid the crude buffetings of a changing world, you will be able to say — until the dawn of the morning breaks on you, which knows neither night nor vicissitude, "I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me live in safety!" - Psalm 4:8
1 (A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD.) Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.
2 Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.
3 For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.
4 My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.
7 I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.
8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping,
10 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.
11 My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.
12 But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.
13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
14 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.
15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
16 When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;
21 To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
23 He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.
24 I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations.
25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
28 The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.
This list of resources and guided Bible Reading plan was compiled by Ryan Birk. It contains the scriptures to read daily as well as links to each scripture on the Bible App to make it easy for you. You will also see videos and helpful links. For more helpful resources, please visit HolyMountaiin.com
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Introductions:
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Before you Begin:
here is a video on “reading/studying God’s Word”
Here is a video on “how to read the Psalms” (the psalms will be spread out throughout this reading plan)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth Genesis 1:1
Then God said Let there be lights in the vault of heaven! Let them separate the day from the night, let them mark the times, the days and the years, shine in the vault of the sky and give light to the earth! It happened that way. So God created the two great luminaries, the greater luminary to rule the day, and the lesser luminary to rule the night and the stars. He placed them in the firmament of heaven to give light to the earth, and to rule over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And evening and morning were the fourth day Genesis 1:14-19
For when I look at the heavens, at the work of your hands, at the moon and the stars that you have made, what is man that you praise him, and what is the son of man that you visit him. Psalm 8:4-5
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament declares the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1
The word of the Lord made the heavens, the breath of his mouth all their hosts. Psalm 33:6
The heavens are yours and the earth is yours, you made the roundness of the earth and everything that is on it. Psalm 89:12
In the beginning you created the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They pass away, but you remain; Like clothes, they all get old, you change them like clothes and they change. Psalm 102:26-27
Whatever He wills, the Lord can do everything in heaven, on earth, in sea and in all depths. Psalm 135:6
He who is enthroned above the globe, whose inhabitants are like locusts; who spreads out the heavens like a veil, and stretches them out like a tent for a dwelling place. Isa 40:22
Thus says the Lord God, who created and stretched out the heavens, who established the earth, and what springs from it; who gives breath to the people on it and soul to those who walk on it. Isaiah 42:5
I made the earth, and I created man on it; my hand stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their armies. Isaiah 45
This is what the Lord says: I clothe the sky with mourning and cover it with sackcloth. Isaiah 50,1.3
Oh Lord God! Behold, you made the heavens and the earth with your great power and your outstretched arm; nothing is impossible for you. Jeremiah 32:17
He who made the earth by his power, established the earth by his wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by his understanding, Jeremiah 1:15
First Reading
Genesis 9:1-13
I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: “Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth. Dread fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all the creatures that move about on the ground and all the fishes of the sea; into your power they are delivered. Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants. Only flesh with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat. For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting: from every animal I will demand it, and from one man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life.
If anyone sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed;
For in the image of God
has man been made.
Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it.”
God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark. I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth.” God added: “This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”
The Word of the Lord
R/ Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 and 22-23
R/ From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R/ From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
“The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”
R/ From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
The children of your servants shall abide,
and their posterity shall continue in your presence,
That the name of the LORD may be declared in Zion,
and his praise, in Jerusalem,
When the peoples gather together,
and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
R/ From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
Gospel Acclamation
cf. John 6:63c, 68c
Alleluia, alleluia.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mark 8:27-33
You are the Christ. The Son of Man must suffer much.
Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ.” Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Wednesday of Passion Week – 6 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – 'The mark of Christ’s sheep ...'
Wednesday of Passion Week – 6 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – ‘The mark of Christ’s sheep …’
Wednesday of Passion Week, the Fifth Week of Lent – 6 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-19, 25, John 10:22-38
“O Lord, deal with us not according to our sins, nor requite us according to our crimes.” – Psalm 102:10
“My sheep hear My Voice;I know them and they follow Me.”
John 10:27
“THE MARK OF CHRIST’S SHEEP is their willingness to hear and obey, just…
A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.
1 Hear my prayer, Lord;
let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me
when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me;
when I call, answer me quickly.
3 For my days vanish like smoke;
my bones burn like glowing embers.
4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
I forget to eat my food.
5 In my distress I groan aloud
and am reduced to skin and bones.
6 I am like a desert owl,
like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake; I have become
like a bird alone on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
9 For I eat ashes as my food
and mingle my drink with tears
10 because of your great wrath,
for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
11 My days are like the evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;
your renown endures through all generations.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her;
the appointed time has come.
14 For her stones are dear to your servants;
her very dust moves them to pity.
15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion
and appear in his glory.
17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
he will not despise their plea.
18 Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high,
from heaven he viewed the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners
and release those condemned to death.”
21 So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
assemble to worship the Lord.
23 In the course of my life[b] he broke my strength;
he cut short my days.
24 So I said:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
your years go on through all generations.
25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
and they will be discarded.
27 But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants will live in your presence;
their descendants will be established before you.
Day 100 Ps 17, 35, 54, 63
Day 101 1 Sam 28-31, Ps 18
Day 102 Ps 121, 123-125, 128-130
Day 103 2 Sam 1-4
Day 104 Ps 6, 8-10, 14, 16, 19, 21
Day 105 1 Chron 1-2, Ps 43-45
Day 106 Ps 49, 84-85, 87, I Chron 3-5
Day 107 Ps 73, 77-78, I Chron 6
Day 108 Ps 81, 88, 92-93
Day 109 1 Chron 7-10
Day 110 Ps 102-104
Day 111 2 Sam 5:1-10; I Chron 11-12, Ps 133
Day 112 Ps 106-107, II Sam 5:11-6:23; I Chron 13-16
Day 113 Ps 1-2, 15, 22-24, 47, 68
Day 114 Ps 89, 96, 100-101, 105, 132
Day 115 2 Sam 7, I Chron 17, Ps 25, 29, 33
Day 116 Ps 36, 39, II Sam 8-9, I Chron 18
Day 117 Ps 50, 53, 60, 75
Day 118 2 Sam 10, I Chron 19, Ps 20, 65-67
Day 119 2 Samuel 11-12, Psalms 51, 69-70, 1 Chronicles 20
Day 120 Ps 32, 51, 86, 122
Day 121 2 Sam 13-15, Ps 3-4
Day 122 Ps 12-13, 28, 55, 2 Sam 16-18
Day 123 Ps 26, 40, 58, 61-62, 64
Day 124 2 Sam 19-21
Day 125 Ps 5, 38, 41-42
Day 126 2 Sam 22-23, Ps 57, 95, 97-99
Day 127 2 Sam 24, 1 Chron 21-22, Ps 30
Day 128 Ps 108-110, 1 Chron 23-25
Day 129 Ps 131, 138, 139, 143-145
Day 130 1 Chron 26-29, Ps 127
Day 131 Ps 111-118
Day 132 1 King 1-2, Ps 37, 71, 94
Day 133 Ps 119:1-88, 1 King 3-4, 2 Chron, 1 Ps 72
Day 134 Ps 119: 89-176
Day 135 Song of Solomon
Day 136 Prov 1-4
Day 137 Prov 5-8
Day 138 Prov 9-12
Day 139 Prov 13-16
Day 140 Prov 17-20
Day 141 Prov 21-24
Day 142 1 King 5-6, 2 Chron 2-3
Day 143 1 Kings 7-8, 2 Chron 4-5
Day 144 2 Chron 6-7, Ps 136
Day 145 Ps 134, 146-150
Day 146 1 King 9, 2 Chron 8, Prov 25-26
Day 147 Prov 27-29, Ecc 1-6
Day 148 Ecc 7-12
Day 149 1 King 10-11, 2 Chron 9, Prov 30-31
Day 150 1 Kings 12-14
Day 151 2 Chron 10-12
Day 152 1 Kings 15-16, 2 Chron 13-17
Day 153 1 Kings 17-19
Day 154 1 Kings 20-22, 2 Chron 18
Day 155 2 Chron 19-23
Day 156 Obadiah, Ps 82-83
Day 157 2 Kings 1-4
Day 158 2 Kings 5-8
Day 159 2 Kings 9-11
Day 160 2 Kings 12-13, 2 Chron 24
Day 161 2 Kings 14, 2 Chron 25, Jonah
Day 162 2 Kings 15, 2 Chron 26
Day 163 Is 1-4
Day 164 Is 5-8
Day 165 Amos
Day 166 2 Chron 27, Is 9-12
Day 167 Micah
Day 168 2 Chron 28, 2 Kings 16-17
Day 169 Is 13-17
Day 170 Is 18-22
Day 171 Is 23-27
Day 172 2 Kings 18: 1-8; 2 Chron 29-31; Ps 48
Day 173 Hos 1-7
Day 174 Hos 8-14
Day 175 Is 28-30
Day 176 Is 31-35
Day 177 Is 36-39, Ps 76
Day 178 Is 40-43
Day 179 Is 44-48
Day 180 2 King 18:9-19:37; Ps 46, 80, 135
Day 181 Is 49-53
Day 182 Is 54-58
Day 183 Is 59-63
Day 184 Is 64-66
Day 185 2 Kings 20-21, 2 Chron 32-33
Day 186 Nahum
Day 187 2 Kings 22-23, 2 Chron 34-35
Day 188 Zephaniah
Day 189 Jer 1-4
Day 190 Jer 5-8
Day 191 Jer 9-12
Day 192 Jer 13-16
Day 193 Jer 17-22
Day 194 Jer 23-26
Day 195 Jer 27-30
Day 196 Jer 31-34
Day 197 Jer 35-37
Day 198 Jer 38-40, Ps 74, 79
Day 199 2 Kings 24-25, II Chron 36
February 12, Scriptures of the Day
First Dominion of the Messiah:
Micah 4:1-4 and 5-8 - But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the Mountain of the House of The LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains (at Jerusalem), and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.
And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion (Jesus/Yhswh the Messiah), unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
Micah 4:4 - For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.
Psalm 102:25-27 - Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.
Hebrews 1:10-12 - And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
The Revelation 20:1-10 - And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
[With all other nations walking in the name of their gods for hundreds of years, the Messiah's First Dominion began looking like an old worn garment!, so He let Satan out of prison around 840 AD (giving Him 770 years to rule the nations), judging by the time documentaries say civilizations worldwide disappeared without a trace, knowing he'd traverse the earth enlisting an army of dissenters as sand of the sea in multitude, and come up against the 'camp of the saints' during their last Feast of Tabernacles for that Kingdom Age. His army was devoured by fire from heaven, Messiah's kingdom was simultaneously folded up and changed to an unseen realm; Satan was cast into the Lake of Fire, leaving millions of demon spirits to take his place; and the only people to repopulate Earth were stragglers who missed their ride to the yearly feast, and their yearly treks to Jerusalem turned into wars over which ethnicity was to claim that city.]
In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end. Psalm 102:25–27, NIV
Bible Fun Fact: God Is Infinite
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 22:13, 1 Kings 8:22-27; Jeremiah 23:24; Psalm 102:25-27)