Thursday 13 December 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Thursday 13 December 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Amos 9:1-10

I saw the Lord standing beside* the altar, and he said:
Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake,
   and shatter them on the heads of all the people;*
and those who are left I will kill with the sword;
   not one of them shall flee away,
   not one of them shall escape. 


2Though they dig into Sheol,
   from there shall my hand take them;
though they climb up to heaven,
   from there I will bring them down. 
3Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
   from there I will search out and take them;
and though they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
   there I will command the sea-serpent, and it shall bite them. 
4And though they go into captivity in front of their enemies,
   there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them;
and I will fix my eyes on them
   for harm and not for good. 


5The Lord, God of hosts,
he who touches the earth and it melts,
   and all who live in it mourn,
and all of it rises like the Nile,
   and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt; 
6who builds his upper chambers in the heavens,
   and founds his vault upon the earth;
who calls for the waters of the sea,
   and pours them out upon the surface of the earth-
the Lord is his name. 


7Are you not like the Ethiopians* to me,
   O people of Israel? says the Lord.
Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt,
   and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir? 
8The eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,
   and I will destroy it from the face of the earth
   -except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, 
says the Lord. 


9For lo, I will command,
   and shake the house of Israel among all the nations
as one shakes with a sieve,
   but no pebble shall fall to the ground. 
10All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
   who say, 'Evil shall not overtake or meet us.' 
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Revelation 2:8-17

'And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of
the first and the last, who was dead and came to life: 
9 'I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich. I
know the slander on the part of those who say that they are Jews and are
not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10Do not fear what you are about to
suffer. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so
that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be
faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11Let
anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the
churches. Whoever conquers will not be harmed by the second death. 


The Message to Pergamum12 'And to the angel of the church in Pergamum
write: These are the words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword: 
13 'I know where you are living, where Satan's throne is. Yet you are
holding fast to my name, and you did not deny your faith in me* even in
the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among
you, where Satan lives. 14But I have a few things against you: you have
some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a
stumbling-block before the people of Israel, so that they would eat food
sacrificed to idols and practise fornication. 15So you also have some
who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Repent then. If not, I
will come to you soon and make war against them with the sword of my
mouth. 17Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying
to the churches. To everyone who conquers I will give some of the hidden
manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written
a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it. 
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Matthew 23:13-26

'But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people
out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when
others are going in, you stop them.* 15Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single
convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell* as
yourselves. 
16 'Woe to you, blind guides, who say, "Whoever swears by the sanctuary
is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is
bound by the oath." 17You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or
the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? 18And you say, "Whoever
swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift
that is on the altar is bound by the oath." 19How blind you are! For
which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20So
whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; 21and
whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells
in it; 22and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and
by the one who is seated upon it. 
23 'Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint,
dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:
justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practised
without neglecting the others. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat
but swallow a camel! 
25 'Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the
outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed
and self-indulgence. 26You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the
cup,* so that the outside also may become clean.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 37:1-18

Psalm 37:1-18

Do not fret because of the wicked;
   do not be envious of wrongdoers, 
2for they will soon fade like the grass,
   and wither like the green herb. 


3Trust in the Lord, and do good;
   so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. 
4Take delight in the Lord,
   and he will give you the desires of your heart. 


5Commit your way to the Lord;
   trust in him, and he will act. 
6He will make your vindication shine like the light,
   and the justice of your cause like the noonday. 


7Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
   do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
   over those who carry out evil devices. 


8Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.
   Do not fret-it leads only to evil. 
9For the wicked shall be cut off,
   but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. 


10Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
   though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there. 
11But the meek shall inherit the land,
   and delight in abundant prosperity. 


12The wicked plot against the righteous,
   and gnash their teeth at them; 
13but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
   for he sees that their day is coming. 


14The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
   to bring down the poor and needy,
   to kill those who walk uprightly; 
15their sword shall enter their own heart,
   and their bows shall be broken. 


16Better is a little that the righteous person has
   than the abundance of many wicked. 
17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
   but the Lord upholds the righteous. 


18The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
   and their heritage will abide for ever;
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 37:19-42

Psalm 37:19-42

they are not put to shame in evil times,
   in the days of famine they have abundance. 


20But the wicked perish,
   and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;
   they vanish-like smoke they vanish away. 


21The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,
   but the righteous are generous and keep giving; 
22for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,
   but those cursed by him shall be cut off. 


23Our steps* are made firm by the Lord,
   when he delights in our* way; 
24though we stumble,* we* shall not fall headlong,
   for the Lord holds us* by the hand. 


25I have been young, and now am old,
   yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
   or their children begging bread. 
26They are ever giving liberally and lending,
   and their children become a blessing. 


27Depart from evil, and do good;
   so you shall abide for ever. 
28For the Lord loves justice;
   he will not forsake his faithful ones. 


The righteous shall be kept safe for ever,
   but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 
29The righteous shall inherit the land,
   and live in it for ever. 


30The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
   and their tongues speak justice. 
31The law of their God is in their hearts;
   their steps do not slip. 


32The wicked watch for the righteous,
   and seek to kill them. 
33The Lord will not abandon them to their power,
   or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial. 


34Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,
   and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
   you will look on the destruction of the wicked. 


35I have seen the wicked oppressing,
   and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.* 
36Again I* passed by, and they were no more;
   though I sought them, they could not be found. 


37Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,
   for there is posterity for the peaceable. 
38But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
   the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off. 


39The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
   he is their refuge in the time of trouble. 
40The Lord helps them and rescues them;
   he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
   because they take refuge in him.
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