Wednesday 22 April 2009<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span><!--StartFragment-->
<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>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Daniel 2:17-30<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then Daniel went to his home and informed his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Babylon might not perish. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Daniel said:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Blessed be the name of God from age to age,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for wisdom and power are his.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He changes times and seasons,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>deposes kings and sets up kings;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he gives wisdom to the wise</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and knowledge to those who have understanding.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He reveals deep and hidden things;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he knows what is in the darkness,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and light dwells with him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To you, O God of my ancestors,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I give thanks and praise,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for you have given me wisdom and power,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and have now revealed to me what we asked of you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for you have revealed to us what the king ordered.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, ‘Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will give the king the interpretation.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him: ‘I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who can tell the king the interpretation.’ The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, ‘Are you able to tell me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?’ Daniel answered the king, ‘No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or diviners can show to the king the mystery that the king is asking, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen at the end of days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed were these: To you, O king, as you lay in bed, came thoughts of what would be hereafter, and the revealer of mysteries disclosed to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me because of any wisdom that I have more than any other living being, but in order that the interpretation may be known to the king and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1 John 2:12-17</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am writing to you, little children,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because your sins are forgiven on account of his name.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am writing to you, fathers,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because you know him who is from the beginning.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am writing to you, young people,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because you have conquered the evil one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I write to you, children,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because you know the Father.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I write to you, fathers,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because you know him who is from the beginning.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I write to you, young people,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because you are strong</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the word of God abides in you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and you have overcome the evil one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire* are passing away, but those who do the will of God live for ever. ******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">John 17:20-26</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,* so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 119:1-24</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 119:1-24</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Happy are those whose way is blameless,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who walk in the law of the Lord.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Happy are those who keep his decrees,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who seek him with their whole heart,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who also do no wrong,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but walk in his ways.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have commanded your precepts</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to be kept diligently.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O that my ways may be steadfast</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in keeping your statutes!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then I shall not be put to shame,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will praise you with an upright heart,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when I learn your righteous ordinances.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will observe your statutes;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not utterly forsake me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How can young people keep their way pure?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>By guarding it according to your word.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With my whole heart I seek you;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not let me stray from your commandments.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I treasure your word in my heart,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so that I may not sin against you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Blessed are you, O Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>teach me your statutes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With my lips I declare</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>all the ordinances of your mouth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I delight in the way of your decrees</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as much as in all riches.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will meditate on your precepts,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and fix my eyes on your ways.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will delight in your statutes;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will not forget your word.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Deal bountifully with your servant,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so that I may live and observe your word.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Open my eyes, so that I may behold</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>wondrous things out of your law.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I live as an alien in the land;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not hide your commandments from me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My soul is consumed with longing</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for your ordinances at all times.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who wander from your commandments;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">take away from me their scorn and contempt,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for I have kept your decrees.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Even though princes sit plotting against me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your servant will meditate on your statutes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your decrees are my delight,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they are my counsellors.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 12, 13, 14</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 12</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the faithful have disappeared from humankind.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They utter lies to each other;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the tongue that makes great boasts,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">those who say, ‘With our tongues we will prevail;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>our lips are our own—who is our master?’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will now rise up,’ says the Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘I will place them in the safety for which they long.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>silver refined in a furnace on the ground,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>purified seven times.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You, O Lord, will protect us;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you will guard us from this generation for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On every side the wicked prowl,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as vileness is exalted among humankind.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 13</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How long will you hide your face from me?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How long must I bear pain* in my soul,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and have sorrow in my heart all day long?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and my enemy will say, ‘I have prevailed’;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I trusted in your steadfast love;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will sing to the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because he has dealt bountifully with me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 14</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>there is no one who does good.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to see if there are any who are wise,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who seek after God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>there is no one who does good,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>no, not one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who eat up my people as they eat bread,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and do not call upon the Lord?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There they shall be in great terror,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for God is with the company of the righteous.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You would confound the plans of the poor,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but the Lord is their refuge.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<!--EndFragment-->