Wednesday 3 September 2008<span style="mso-spacerun:
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<p class="MsoNormal">DAILY LECTIONARY</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<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">Job 12:1, 14:1-22</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Then Job answered:</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">‘A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>comes up like a flower and withers,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>flees like a shadow and does not last.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do you fix your eyes on such a one?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Do you bring me into judgement with you?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>No one can.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Since their days are determined,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the number of their months is known to you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and you have appointed the bounds that they cannot pass,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">look away from them, and desist,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that they may enjoy, like labourers, their days.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘For there is hope for a tree,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>if it is cut down, that it will sprout again,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and that its shoots will not cease.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Though its root grows old in the earth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and its stump dies in the ground,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">yet at the scent of water it will bud</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and put forth branches like a young plant.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But mortals die, and are laid low;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>humans expire, and where are they?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As waters fail from a lake,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and a river wastes away and dries up,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">so mortals lie down and do not rise again;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>until the heavens are no more, they will not awake</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or be roused out of their sleep.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O that you would hide me in Sheol,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that you would conceal me until your wrath is past,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If mortals die, will they live again?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>All the days of my service I would wait</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>until my release should come.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You would call, and I would answer you;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you would long for the work of your hands.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For then you would not* number my steps,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you would not keep watch over my sin;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">my transgression would be sealed up in a bag,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and you would cover over my iniquity.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘But the mountain falls and crumbles away,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the rock is removed from its place;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the waters wear away the stones;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the torrents wash away the soil of the earth;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so you destroy the hope of mortals.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You prevail for ever against them, and they pass away;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you change their countenance, and send them away.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Their children come to honour, and they do not know it;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they are brought low, and it goes unnoticed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They feel only the pain of their own bodies,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and mourn only for themselves.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Acts 12:18-25</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">When morning came, there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. When Herod had searched for him and could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now Herod* was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him in a body; and after winning over Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for a reconciliation, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the platform, and delivered a public address to them. The people kept shouting, ‘The voice of a god, and not of a mortal!’ And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But the word of God continued to advance and gain adherents. Then after completing their mission Barnabas and Saul returned to* Jerusalem and brought with them John, whose other name was Mark. ******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">John 8:47-59</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Jews answered him, ‘Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?’ Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon; but I honour my Father, and you dishonour me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the judge. Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.’ The Jews said to him, ‘Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, “He is our God”, though you do not know him. But I know him; if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.’ Then the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’* Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">*******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Psalm 38</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 38</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or discipline me in your wrath.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For your arrows have sunk into me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and your hand has come down on me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is no soundness in my flesh</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because of your indignation;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">there is no health in my bones</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because of my sin.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For my iniquities have gone over my head;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they weigh like a burden too heavy for me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My wounds grow foul and fester</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because of my foolishness;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>all day long I go around mourning.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For my loins are filled with burning,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and there is no soundness in my flesh.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am utterly spent and crushed;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I groan because of the tumult of my heart.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O Lord, all my longing is known to you;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my sighing is not hidden from you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My heart throbs, my strength fails me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as for the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My friends and companions stand aloof from my affliction,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and my neighbours stand far off.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those who seek my life lay their snares;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>those who seek to hurt me speak of ruin,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and meditate treachery all day long.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I am like the deaf, I do not hear;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>like the mute, who cannot speak.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Truly, I am like one who does not hear,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and in whose mouth is no retort.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For I pray, ‘Only do not let them rejoice over me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>those who boast against me when my foot slips.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For I am ready to fall,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and my pain is ever with me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I confess my iniquity;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I am sorry for my sin.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those who are my foes without cause* are mighty,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and many are those who hate me wrongfully.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those who render me evil for good</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>are my adversaries because I follow after good.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not forsake me, O Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O my God, do not be far from me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">make haste to help me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O Lord, my salvation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Psalm 119:25-48</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 119:25-48</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My soul clings to the dust;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>revive me according to your word.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When I told of my ways, you answered me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>teach me your statutes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Make me understand the way of your precepts,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and I will meditate on your wondrous works.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My soul melts away for sorrow;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>strengthen me according to your word.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Put false ways far from me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and graciously teach me your law.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have chosen the way of faithfulness;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I set your ordinances before me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I cling to your decrees, O Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let me not be put to shame.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I run the way of your commandments,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for you enlarge my understanding.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and I will observe it to the end.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Give me understanding, that I may keep your law</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and observe it with my whole heart.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lead me in the path of your commandments,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for I delight in it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Turn my heart to your decrees,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and not to selfish gain.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>give me life in your ways.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Confirm to your servant your promise,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>which is for those who fear you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Turn away the disgrace that I dread,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for your ordinances are good.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">See, I have longed for your precepts;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in your righteousness give me life.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your salvation according to your promise.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then I shall have an answer for those who taunt me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for I trust in your word.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for my hope is in your ordinances.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will keep your law continually,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for ever and ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I shall walk at liberty,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for I have sought your precepts.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will also speak of your decrees before kings,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and shall not be put to shame;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I find my delight in your commandments,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because I love them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I revere your commandments, which I love,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and I will meditate on your statutes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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