Tuesday 12 June 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Tuesday 12 June 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard
for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should
say, 'Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may
hear it and observe it?' Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should
say, 'Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it
for us so that we may hear it and observe it?' No, the word is very
near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.

See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and
adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am
commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways,
and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall
live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the
land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and
you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve
them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live
long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set
before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that
you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying
him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of
days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to
your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
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2 Corinthians 11:1-21a

I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me!
I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in marriage to one
husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I am afraid
that as the serpent deceived Eve by its cunning, your thoughts will be
led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone
comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you
receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different
gospel from the one you accepted, you submit to it readily enough. I
think that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. I
may be untrained in speech, but not in knowledge; certainly in every
way and in all things we have made this evident to you.

Did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted,
because I proclaimed God's good news to you free of charge? I robbed
other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you.
And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for
my needs were supplied by the friends who came from Macedonia. So I
refrained and will continue to refrain from burdening you in any way.
As the truth of Christ is in me, this boast of mine will not be
silenced in the regions of Achaia. And why? Because I do not love you?
God knows I do!

And what I do I will also continue to do, in order to deny an
opportunity to those who want an opportunity to be recognized as our
equals in what they boast about. For such boasters are false apostles,
deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no
wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is not
strange if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of
righteousness. Their end will match their deeds.

I repeat, let no one think that I am a fool; but if you do, then accept
me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. What I am saying in
regard to this boastful confidence, I am saying not with the Lord's
authority, but as a fool; since many boast according to human
standards, I will also boast. For you gladly put up with fools, being
wise yourselves! For you put up with it when someone makes slaves of
you, or preys upon you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or
gives you a slap in the face. To my shame, I must say, we were too weak
for that!

But whatever anyone dares to boast of-I am speaking as a fool-I also
dare to boast of that.
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Luke 19:1-10

He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named
Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and was rich. He was trying to
see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he
was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycomore tree to see
him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the
place, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, hurry and come down;
for I must stay at your house today.' So he hurried down and was happy
to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, 'He has gone
to be the guest of one who is a sinner.' Zacchaeus stood there and said
to the Lord, 'Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the
poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four
times as much.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to
this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came
to seek out and to save the lost.'
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 61, 62

Psalm 61

Hear my cry, O God;
   listen to my prayer. 
>From the end of the earth I call to you,
   when my heart is faint. 


Lead me to the rock
   that is higher than I; 
for you are my refuge,
   a strong tower against the enemy. 


Let me abide in your tent for ever,
   find refuge under the shelter of your wings.
          Selah 
For you, O God, have heard my vows;
   you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. 


Prolong the life of the king;
   may his years endure to all generations! 
May he be enthroned for ever before God;
   appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him! 


So I will always sing praises to your name,
   as I pay my vows day after day.



Psalm 62

For God alone my soul waits in silence;
   from him comes my salvation. 
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
   my fortress; I shall never be shaken. 


How long will you assail a person,
   will you batter your victim, all of you,
   as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence? 
Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
   They take pleasure in falsehood;
they bless with their mouths,
   but inwardly they curse.
          Selah 


For God alone my soul waits in silence,
   for my hope is from him. 
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
   my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 
On God rests my deliverance and my honour;
   my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. 


Trust in him at all times, O people;
   pour out your heart before him;
   God is a refuge for us.
          Selah 


Those of low estate are but a breath,
   those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
   they are together lighter than a breath. 
Put no confidence in extortion,
   and set no vain hopes on robbery;
   if riches increase, do not set your heart on them. 


Once God has spoken;
   twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God, 
   and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all
   according to their work.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 68:1-36

Psalm 68:1-36

Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
   let those who hate him flee before him. 
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
   as wax melts before the fire,
   let the wicked perish before God. 
But let the righteous be joyful;
   let them exult before God;
   let them be jubilant with joy. 


Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
   lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds-
his name is the Lord-
   be exultant before him. 


Father of orphans and protector of widows
   is God in his holy habitation. 
God gives the desolate a home to live in;
   he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
   but the rebellious live in a parched land. 


O God, when you went out before your people,
   when you marched through the wilderness,
          Selah 
the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
   at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
   at the presence of God, the God of Israel. 
Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
   you restored your heritage when it languished; 
your flock found a dwelling in it;
   in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. 


The Lord gives the command;
   great is the company of those who bore the tidings: 
   'The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!'
The women at home divide the spoil, 
   though they stay among the sheepfolds-
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
   its pinions with green gold. 
When the Almighty scattered kings there,
   snow fell on Zalmon. 


O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;
   O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan! 
Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain,
   at the mount that God desired for his abode,
   where the Lord will reside for ever? 


With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,
   thousands upon thousands,
   the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place. 
You ascended the high mount,
   leading captives in your train
   and receiving gifts from people,
even from those who rebel against the Lord God's abiding there. 
Blessed be the Lord,
   who daily bears us up;
   God is our salvation.
          Selah 
Our God is a God of salvation,
   and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death. 


But God will shatter the heads of his enemies,
   the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways. 
The Lord said,
   'I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, 
so that you may bathe your feet in blood,
   so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe.' 


Your solemn processions are seen, O God,
   the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary- 
the singers in front, the musicians last,
   between them girls playing tambourines: 
'Bless God in the great congregation,
   the Lord, O you who are of Israel's fountain!' 
There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
   the princes of Judah in a body,
   the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. 


Summon your might, O God;
   show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before. 
Because of your temple at Jerusalem
   kings bear gifts to you. 
Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds,
   the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample under foot those who lust after tribute;
   scatter the peoples who delight in war. 
Let bronze be brought from Egypt;
   let Ethiopia hasten to stretch out its hands to God. 


Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
   sing praises to the Lord,
          Selah 
O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
   listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. 
Ascribe power to God,
   whose majesty is over Israel;
   and whose power is in the skies. 
Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
   the God of Israel;
   he gives power and strength to his people. 

Blessed be God!
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