Monday 8 December 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">Isaiah 5:8-12,18-23</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Ah, you who join house to house,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who add field to field,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">until there is room for no one but you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and you are left to live alone</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the midst of the land!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Surely many houses shall be desolate,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and a homer of seed shall yield a mere ephah.*</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Ah, you who rise early in the morning</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in pursuit of strong drink,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who linger in the evening</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to be inflamed by wine,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">whose feasts consist of lyre and harp,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>tambourine and flute and wine,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">but who do not regard the deeds of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or see the work of his hands!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ah, you who drag iniquity along with cords of falsehood,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who drag sin along as with cart-ropes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who say, ‘Let him make haste,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let him speed his work</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that we may see it;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">let the plan of the Holy One of Israel hasten to fulfilment,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that we may know it!’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ah, you who call evil good</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and good evil,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who put darkness for light</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and light for darkness,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who put bitter for sweet</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and sweet for bitter!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ah, you who are wise in your own eyes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and shrewd in your own sight!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ah, you who are heroes in drinking wine</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and valiant at mixing drink,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who acquit the guilty for a bribe,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and deprive the innocent of their rights!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1 Thessalonians 5:1-11</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters,* you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, ‘There is peace and security’, then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! But you, beloved,* are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then, let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. ******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Luke 21:20-28</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.* Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it; for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfilment of all that is written. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in a cloud” with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Psalm 25</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 25</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O my God, in you I trust;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not let me be put to shame;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not let my enemies exult over me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Make me to know your ways, O Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>teach me your paths.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lead me in your truth, and teach me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for you are the God of my salvation;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for you I wait all day long.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for they have been from of old.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>according to your steadfast love remember me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Good and upright is the Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>therefore he instructs sinners in the way.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He leads the humble in what is right,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and teaches the humble his way.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">For your name’s sake, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>pardon my guilt, for it is great.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Who are they that fear the Lord?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He will teach them the way that they should choose.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They will abide in prosperity,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and their children shall possess the land.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and he makes his covenant known to them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My eyes are ever towards the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for he will pluck my feet out of the net.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Turn to me and be gracious to me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for I am lonely and afflicted.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Relieve the troubles of my heart,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and bring me* out of my distress.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Consider my affliction and my trouble,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and forgive all my sins.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Consider how many are my foes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and with what violent hatred they hate me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O guard my life, and deliver me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">May integrity and uprightness preserve me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for I wait for you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Redeem Israel, O God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>out of all its troubles.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 9, 15</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 9</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will be glad and exult in you;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">When my enemies turned back,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they stumbled and perished before you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For you have maintained my just cause;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgement.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>their cities you have rooted out;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the very memory of them has perished.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the Lord sits enthroned for ever,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he has established his throne for judgement.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He judges the world with righteousness;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he judges the peoples with equity.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>a stronghold in times of trouble.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And those who know your name put their trust in you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Declare his deeds among the peoples.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Be gracious to me, O Lord.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>See what I suffer from those who hate me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">so that I may recount all your praises,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and, in the gates of daughter Zion,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>rejoice in your deliverance.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgement;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Higgaion. Selah</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The wicked shall depart to Sheol,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>all the nations that forget God.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the needy shall not always be forgotten,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>nor the hope of the poor perish for ever.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let the nations be judged before you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Put them in fear, O Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let the nations know that they are only human.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 15</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">O Lord, who may abide in your tent?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Who may dwell on your holy hill?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and speak the truth from their heart;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who do not slander with their tongue,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and do no evil to their friends,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>nor take up a reproach against their neighbours;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">in whose eyes the wicked are despised,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but who honour those who fear the Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who stand by their oath even to their hurt;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who do not lend money at interest,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and do not take a bribe against the innocent.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those who do these things shall never be moved.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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