A pygarg, a chamois, a glede, an ossifrage, and a cormorant walk into a bar ...

What are a pygarg, chamois, coney, glede, ossifrage, and cormorant?
What does it mean to seethe (as in, thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk)?

In Deuteronomy 15:4, we have mention of a lack of poor, which upon inspection isn't contrary to Matthew 26:11 (For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.), as it refers only to the children of Israel.

And I started to seriously consider this.

Can you imagine a society built on this promise? They'd have no poor!
Can you imagine a nation with no poor?
Can you imagine a family, group, fellowship, or brotherhood, truly standing on the Lord's words and promises, claiming all the many wonders that God has clearly set aside for the children of Israel (and by proxy all earnest believers in Christ), and living in accordance with His commandments? No dissension, no strife, only love, and service!
Praise the Lord!

Also - there is an abundance propensity in the modern church, especially those fellowships built around public followings, like charismatic tele-pastors, which focus on the idea that you can lay hands on anything you desire. Abundance and prosperity are blessings, to be sure - but they have a purpose. That purpose is revealed in Deuteronomy 15:10 - Thou shalt surely given him [thy poor brother], and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.
So abundance is intended to be used in blessing others with.

Another something I mentioned happened in Luke 8:43, with that woman who had an issue of blood twelve years. Of all the publicly known events a man and woman, as individuals, go through, the oddest has to be of which her disease was a magnification. The fact that she experienced it for such a prolonged state suggests a kind of anointed curse for her - to survive that long with that curse must have been unusually hard, experiencing a perpetual internal cleansing as it were - and to suffer for over a decade must have made her, much like so many of the people Jesus healed, a well known example of suffering that people just had to "take for granted".
So we have an archetypal sufferer, approach Jesus by faith (harder than most, probably had to push through more intensely than most to even touch the border of his garment because she was probably publicly shunned), and Jesus notices. Jesus is quite literally THRONGED by people, and he notices a small bleeding woman touching a small corner of his shirt. How much of a miracle is that?

Soon after, Jesus gives His disciples power and authority over devils and to cure diseases.
- What made then the right time to give His disciples that power and authority? Is it related to the fact that they could now enact their own healing, after seeing Jesus heal the woman with the dozen-year blood issue?
- Given its proximity, outside of the pointed mentioned in the last line, is there to be some implicit, or explicit, connection between the woman with a prior issue of blood twelve years and the power and authority over devils and to cure disease.
- What exactly is a disease? Is it defined the same in Greek as it is in English? Are there states or experiences we call diseases that the Greeks wouldn't, and thus aren't under this category?
- As an example - this likely includes leprosy. Does it include myopia? acne? Anything and everything ?
- Can we, as believers and followers of Christ, be deemed modern-day disciples, and thus able to lay claim on those promised premise of the power and authority over devils and the curing of diseases?
- Is the use of the word "cure" with respect to animals (as in to keep them) an intentional cultural misappropriation to reduce the efficacy of the church in the use of the word "cure" with respect to diseases?
diseases.

Psalm 71:7 "I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge" is, to my knowledge, David pouring out his heart to God. There has been an assumption in my life, that if one were to earnestly proclaim the Word as true in your life, it would be quite literally true. I believe it is one of the devices that God can use to increase your faith. If this assumption is true, I have to wonder if every verse of scripture applies to everyone. In particular this verse: Is every believer a wonder unto many?

Psalm 71:9 "Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth" is something I too am assuming is David sharing his thoughts and fears. Are we to assume that in old age, it is standard practice for God to cast us off - as if, because we're then weaker than we have been, we can't worship or praise Him as thoroughly, so it is worth less? What other edifying perspective can one bring to the table that would clarify this? What Holy-Sprit-inspired-paradigm can resolve this?

The end of this list of observations comes from Proverbs 12:5-7 ... which lists a few character associations of the righteous, as well as the wicked. The difference between those in Proverbs 12:5-7 and the earlier ones is that these seem to be retroactively descriptive ... as in, if you seek to have right thoughts, if you deliver those whose blood the wicked like in wait for, if your house stands, then the chances are you are righteous. You certainly can't guarantee, in and of yourself, that your house can stand, but you can certainly focus on right thinking and possibly be proactive when you notice others trying to pick on or do away with others - a kind of defending the weak.

How much of your own understanding of scripture comes from someone you respect, and not from reading the Word yourself?
How much of your appreciation of scripture comes from appreciating how righteous or anointed someone appears, instead of appreciation as administered by the Holy Spirit?
It is common, in these (I believe) end times, to trust in the perception of other learned men. I am not saying there is no place for such things ... but if your understanding and doctrine come from men, their perceptions, their writings, and THEIR walk in Christ, I would seriously consider setting aside some time to pray about having your OWN relationship.
I believe that each of us are called to have a personal connection with Christ - which is why I post. I'm sharing my stumbling meandering through the scripture because I claim it as a blessing to myself as well as anyone who reads it.

So that is today's call to action: Read scripture daily.
You can read the passages I reference above
You can read through one book a month, dwelling on the intricacies inherent in that book.
You can do a character study, pick one major character, and track his or her activities throughout scripture.
You can do a nation or region study, pick one major area, and track their references or uses throughout scripture.
You can do a journey study, and track exactly where various people traveled.
You can do a miracle study, evaluating where miracles happened, to whom, and how long they lasted.
You can do a promise study, evaluating all the various promises that God (or others) promise, whether they come to pass and (especially God) the list of conditions for each promise.
You can do a chronological study, comparing each character/nation/region's activities during certain time or reigns.
You can do a war study, whereby you pick a conflict, observe who was involved, what caused it, what resolved it, and what the winners and losers did.
You can do a base scripture study, which have overlap (like the first four new testament books) and track where they are the same and where they differ.

Whatever you do, my challenge is simple:
Adopt a daily habit of reading scripture. And if you pick one of the above, keep to that method, and likely your faith and relationship with God will grow.