Friday 15 May 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">Wisdom 16:15-17:1<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To escape from your hand is impossible;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for the ungodly, refusing to know you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">were flogged by the strength of your arm,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">pursued by unusual rains and hail and relentless storms,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and utterly consumed by fire.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For—most incredible of all—in water, which quenches all things,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the fire had still greater effect,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for the universe defends the righteous.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At one time the flame was restrained,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">so that it might not consume the creatures sent against the ungodly,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">but that seeing this they might know</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">that they were being pursued by the judgement of God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and at another time even in the midst of water it burned more intensely than fire,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to destroy the crops of the unrighteous land.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Instead of these things you gave your people food of angels,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and without their toil you supplied them from heaven with bread ready to eat,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">providing every pleasure and suited to every taste.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For your sustenance manifested your sweetness towards your children;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and the bread, ministering* to the desire of the one who took it,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">was changed to suit everyone’s liking.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Snow and ice withstood fire without melting,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">so that they might know that the crops of their enemies</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">were being destroyed by the fire that blazed in the hail</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and flashed in the showers of rain;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">whereas the fire,* in order that the righteous might be fed,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">even forgot its native power.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For creation, serving you who made it,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">exerts itself to punish the unrighteous,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and in kindness relaxes on behalf of those who trust in you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore at that time also, changed into all forms,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">it served your all-nourishing bounty,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">according to the desire of those who had need,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">so that your children, whom you loved, O Lord, might learn</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">that it is not the production of crops that feeds humankind</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">but that your word sustains those who trust in you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For what was not destroyed by fire</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">was melted when simply warmed by a fleeting ray of the sun,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to make it known that one must rise before the sun to give you thanks,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and must pray to you at the dawning of the light;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for the hope of an ungrateful person will melt like wintry frost,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and flow away like waste water.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Great are your judgements and hard to describe;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">therefore uninstructed souls have gone astray.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Romans 14:13-23</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let us therefore no longer pass judgement on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling-block or hindrance in the way of another.* I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. If your brother or sister* is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. So do not let your good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual edification. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat; it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister* stumble.* The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve. But those who have doubts are condemned if they eat, because they do not act from faith;* for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Luke 8:40-56</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’ feet and begged him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians,* no one could cure her. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her haemorrhage stopped. Then Jesus asked, ‘Who touched me?’ When all denied it, Peter* said, ‘Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.’ When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While he was still speaking, someone came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.’ When Jesus heard this, he replied, ‘Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved.’ When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother. They were all weeping and wailing for her; but he said, ‘Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and called out, ‘Child, get up!’ Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astounded; but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 106:1-18</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 108:1-18</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Praise the Lord!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his steadfast love endures for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or declare all his praise?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Happy are those who observe justice,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who do righteousness at all times.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Remember me, O Lord, when you show favour to your people;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>help me when you deliver them;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that I may glory in your heritage.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Both we and our ancestors have sinned;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>did not consider your wonderful works;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but rebelled against the Most High* at the Red Sea.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so that he might make known his mighty power.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He rebuked the Red Sea,* and it became dry;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he led them through the deep as through a desert.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So he saved them from the hand of the foe,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The waters covered their adversaries;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>not one of them was left.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then they believed his words;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they sang his praise.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But they soon forgot his works;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they did not wait for his counsel.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and put God to the test in the desert;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he gave them what they asked,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but sent a wasting disease among them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They were jealous of Moses in the camp,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and covered the faction of Abiram.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fire also broke out in their company;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the flame burned up the wicked.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 106:19-48</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 106:19-48</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They made a calf at Horeb</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and worshipped a cast image.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They exchanged the glory of God*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for the image of an ox that eats grass.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They forgot God, their Saviour,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who had done great things in Egypt,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">wondrous works in the land of Ham,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore he said he would destroy them—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>had not Moses, his chosen one,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">stood in the breach before him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to turn away his wrath from destroying them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then they despised the pleasant land,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>having no faith in his promise.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They grumbled in their tents,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and did not obey the voice of the Lord.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that he would make them fall in the wilderness,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and would disperse* their descendants among the nations,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>scattering them over the lands.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and a plague broke out among them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the plague was stopped.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from generation to generation for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They angered the Lord * at the waters of Meribah,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and it went ill with Moses on their account;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for they made his spirit bitter,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and he spoke words that were rash.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They did not destroy the peoples</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as the Lord commanded them,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">but they mingled with the nations</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and learned to do as they did.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They served their idols,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>which became a snare to them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They sacrificed their sons</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and their daughters to the demons;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they poured out innocent blood,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the blood of their sons and daughters,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the land was polluted with blood.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thus they became unclean by their acts,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and prostituted themselves in their doings.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and he abhorred his heritage;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he gave them into the hand of the nations,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so that those who hated them ruled over them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Their enemies oppressed them,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and they were brought into subjection under their power.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Many times he delivered them,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but they were rebellious in their purposes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and were brought low through their iniquity.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nevertheless, he regarded their distress</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when he heard their cry.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For their sake he remembered his covenant,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He caused them to be pitied</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>by all who held them captive.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Save us, O Lord our God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and gather us from among the nations,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">that we may give thanks to your holy name</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and glory in your praise.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<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.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And let all the people say, ‘Amen.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Praise the Lord!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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