Wednesday 17 October 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

[info at dailylectionary.org]

Wednesday 17 October 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

Email Evangelism, forward to a friend: http://www.dailylectionary.org

******************************************************************
Jeremiah 37:3-21

King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son
of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah saying, 'Please pray for us to the
Lord our God.' 4Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the
people, for he had not yet been put in prison. 5Meanwhile, the army of
Pharaoh had come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging
Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem. 
6 Then the word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah: 7Thus says the
Lord, God of Israel: This is what the two of you shall say to the king
of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: Pharaoh's army, which set
out to help you, is going to return to its own land, to Egypt. 8And the
Chaldeans shall return and fight against this city; they shall take it
and burn it with fire. 9Thus says the Lord: Do not deceive yourselves,
saying, 'The Chaldeans will surely go away from us', for they will not
go away. 10Even if you defeated the whole army of Chaldeans who are
fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men in
their tents, they would rise up and burn this city with fire. 
Jeremiah Is Imprisoned11 Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from
Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, 12Jeremiah set out from
Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his share of
property* among the people there.
******************************************************************
1 Corinthians 14:13-25

Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to
interpret. 14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is
unproductive. 15What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but
I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but
I will sing praise with the mind also. 16Otherwise, if you say a
blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider
say the 'Amen' to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know
what you are saying? 17For you may give thanks well enough, but the
other person is not built up. 18I thank God that I speak in tongues more
than all of you; 19nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five
words with my mind, in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand
words in a tongue. 
20 Brothers and sisters,* do not be children in your thinking; rather,
be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults. 21In the law it is
written,
'By people of strange tongues
   and by the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people;
   yet even then they will not listen to me,'
says the Lord. 22Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for
unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers.
23If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in
tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you
are out of your mind? 24But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider
who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all. 25After the
secrets of the unbeliever's heart are disclosed, that person will bow
down before God and worship him, declaring, 'God is really among you.'
******************************************************************
Matthew 10:24-33

'A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25it
is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like
the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how
much more will they malign those of his household! 
Whom to Fear26 'So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that
will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.
27What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear
whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28Do not fear those who kill the
body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul
and body in hell.* 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one
of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. 30And even
the hairs of your head are all counted. 31So do not be afraid; you are
of more value than many sparrows. 
32 'Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will
acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33but whoever denies me before
others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
******************************************************************
Morning Psalms:  Psalm 119:1-24

Psalm 119:1-24

Happy are those whose way is blameless,
   who walk in the law of the Lord. 
2Happy are those who keep his decrees,
   who seek him with their whole heart, 
3who also do no wrong,
   but walk in his ways. 
4You have commanded your precepts
   to be kept diligently. 
5O that my ways may be steadfast
   in keeping your statutes! 
6Then I shall not be put to shame,
   having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. 
7I will praise you with an upright heart,
   when I learn your righteous ordinances. 
8I will observe your statutes;
   do not utterly forsake me. 


9How can young people keep their way pure?
   By guarding it according to your word. 
10With my whole heart I seek you;
   do not let me stray from your commandments. 
11I treasure your word in my heart,
   so that I may not sin against you. 
12Blessed are you, O Lord;
   teach me your statutes. 
13With my lips I declare
   all the ordinances of your mouth. 
14I delight in the way of your decrees
   as much as in all riches. 
15I will meditate on your precepts,
   and fix my eyes on your ways. 
16I will delight in your statutes;
   I will not forget your word. 


17Deal bountifully with your servant,
   so that I may live and observe your word. 
18Open my eyes, so that I may behold
   wondrous things out of your law. 
19I live as an alien in the land;
   do not hide your commandments from me. 
20My soul is consumed with longing
   for your ordinances at all times. 
21You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
   who wander from your commandments; 
22take away from me their scorn and contempt,
   for I have kept your decrees. 
23Even though princes sit plotting against me,
   your servant will meditate on your statutes. 
24Your decrees are my delight,
   they are my counsellors. 
******************************************************************
Evening Psalms:  Psalm 12, 13, 14

Psalm 12

Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
   the faithful have disappeared from humankind. 
2They utter lies to each other;
   with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. 


3May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
   the tongue that makes great boasts, 
4those who say, 'With our tongues we will prevail;
   our lips are our own-who is our master?' 


5'Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
   I will now rise up,' says the Lord;
   'I will place them in the safety for which they long.' 
6The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
   silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
   purified seven times. 


7You, O Lord, will protect us;
   you will guard us from this generation for ever. 
8On every side the wicked prowl,
   as vileness is exalted among humankind.



Psalm 13

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever?
   How long will you hide your face from me? 
2How long must I bear pain* in my soul,
   and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 


3Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!
   Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, 
4and my enemy will say, 'I have prevailed';
   my foes will rejoice because I am shaken. 


5But I trusted in your steadfast love;
   my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 
6I will sing to the Lord,
   because he has dealt bountifully with me.



Psalm 14

1Fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God.'
   They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
   there is no one who does good. 


2The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind
   to see if there are any who are wise,
   who seek after God. 


3They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse;
   there is no one who does good,
   no, not one. 


4Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
   who eat up my people as they eat bread,
   and do not call upon the Lord? 


5There they shall be in great terror,
   for God is with the company of the righteous. 
6You would confound the plans of the poor,
   but the Lord is their refuge. 


7O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
   When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
   Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
******************************************************************