Monday 21 July 2008<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><!--StartFragment-->
<p class="MsoNormal">DAILY LECTIONARY</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Email Evangelism, forward to a friend: http://www.dailylectionary.org</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Joshua 7:1-13</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">But the Israelites broke faith in regard to the devoted things: Achan son of Carmi son of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things; and the anger of the Lord burned against the Israelites.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, ‘Go up and spy out the land.’ And the men went up and spied out Ai. Then they returned to Joshua and said to him, ‘Not all the people need go up; about two or three thousand men should go up and attack Ai. Since they are so few, do not make the whole people toil up there.’ So about three thousand of the people went up there; and they fled before the men of Ai. The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, chasing them from outside the gate as far as Shebarim and killing them on the slope. The hearts of the people failed and turned to water.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the ground on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. Joshua said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Why have you brought this people across the Jordan at all, to hand us over to the Amorites so as to destroy us? Would that we had been content to settle beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned their backs to their enemies! The Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will you do for your great name?’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! Why have you fallen upon your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I imposed on them. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have acted deceitfully, and they have put them among their own belongings. Therefore the Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they turn their backs to their enemies, because they have become a thing devoted for destruction themselves. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. Proceed to sanctify the people, and say, “Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘There are devoted things among you, O Israel; you will be unable to stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Romans 13:8-14</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; let us live honourably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. ******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Matthew 26:36-46</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’ Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial;* the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Again he went away for the second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’ Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Psalm 41, 52</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 41</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Happy are those who consider the poor;*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they are called happy in the land.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in their illness you heal all their infirmities.*</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">As for me, I said, ‘O Lord, be gracious to me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>heal me, for I have sinned against you.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My enemies wonder in malice</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when I will die, and my name perish.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And when they come to see me, they utter empty words,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>while their hearts gather mischief;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when they go out, they tell it abroad.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All who hate me whisper together about me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they imagine the worst for me.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that I will not rise again from where I lie.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and raise me up, that I may repay them.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By this I know that you are pleased with me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because my enemy has not triumphed over me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But you have upheld me because of my integrity,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and set me in your presence for ever.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from everlasting to everlasting.Amen and Amen.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 52</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Why do you boast, O mighty one,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>of mischief done against the godly?*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>All day long you are plotting destruction.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your tongue is like a sharp razor,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you worker of treachery.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You love evil more than good,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and lying more than speaking the truth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You love all words that devour,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O deceitful tongue.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But God will break you down for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he will snatch and tear you from your tent;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he will uproot you from the land of the living.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The righteous will see, and fear,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and will laugh at the evildoer,* saying,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘See the one who would not take</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>refuge in God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">but trusted in abundant riches,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and sought refuge in wealth!’*</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I am like a green olive tree</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the house of God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I trust in the steadfast love of God</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for ever and ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will thank you for ever,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because of what you have done.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the presence of the faithful</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will proclaim* your name, for it is good.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Psalm 44</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 44</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">We have heard with our ears, O God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>our ancestors have told us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">what deeds you performed in their days,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the days of old:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">you with your own hand drove out the nations,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but them you planted;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">you afflicted the peoples,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but them you set free;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for not by their own sword did they win the land,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>nor did their own arm give them victory;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">but your right hand, and your arm,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the light of your countenance,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for you delighted in them.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You are my King and my God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you command* victories for Jacob.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Through you we push down our foes;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>through your name we tread down our assailants.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For not in my bow do I trust,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>nor can my sword save me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But you have saved us from our foes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and have put to confusion those who hate us.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In God we have boasted continually,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and we will give thanks to your name for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yet you have rejected us and abased us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and have not gone out with our armies.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You made us turn back from the foe,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and our enemies have taken spoil for themselves.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have made us like sheep for slaughter,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and have scattered us among the nations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have sold your people for a trifle,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>demanding no high price for them.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have made us the taunt of our neighbours,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the derision and scorn of those around us.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have made us a byword among the nations,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>a laughing-stock* among the peoples.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All day long my disgrace is before me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and shame has covered my face</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">at the words of the taunters and revilers,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All this has come upon us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>yet we have not forgotten you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or been false to your covenant.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our heart has not turned back,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>nor have our steps departed from your way,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and covered us with deep darkness.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If we had forgotten the name of our God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or spread out our hands to a strange god,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">would not God discover this?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For he knows the secrets of the heart.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because of you we are being killed all day long,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and accounted as sheep for the slaughter.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Awake, do not cast us off for ever!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why do you hide your face?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For we sink down to the dust;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>our bodies cling to the ground.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rise up, come to our help.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
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