Monday 17 August 2009<!--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">2 Samuel 17:24-18:8<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Then David came to Mahanaim, while Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. Now Absalom had set Amasa over the army in the place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite,* who had married Abigal daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. The Israelites and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grain, beans and lentils,* honey and curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat; for they said, ‘The troops are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then David mustered the men who were with him, and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. And David divided the army into three groups:* one-third under the command of Joab, one-third under the command of Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one-third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the men, ‘I myself will also go out with you.’ But the men said, ‘You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us;* therefore it is better that you send us help from the city.’ The king said to them, ‘Whatever seems best to you I will do.’ So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands. The king gave orders to Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.’ And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Acts 22:30-23:11</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Since he wanted to find out what Paul* was being accused of by the Jews, the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and the entire council to meet. He brought Paul down and had him stand before them.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">While Paul was looking intently at the council he said, ‘Brothers,* up to this day I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God.’ Then the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike him on the mouth. At this Paul said to him, ‘God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting there to judge me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law you order me to be struck?’ Those standing nearby said, ‘Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?’ And Paul said, ‘I did not realize, brothers, that he was high priest; for it is written, “You shall not speak evil of a leader of your people.” ’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When Paul noticed that some were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he called out in the council, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection* of the dead.’ When he said this, a dissension began between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge all three.) Then a great clamour arose, and certain scribes of the Pharisees’ group stood up and contended, ‘We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?’ When the dissension became violent, the tribune, fearing that they would tear Paul to pieces, ordered the soldiers to go down, take him by force, and bring him into the barracks.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That night the Lord stood near him and said, ‘Keep up your courage! For just as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also in Rome.’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Mark 11:12-26</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was teaching and saying, ‘Is it not written,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations”?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But you have made it a den of robbers.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples* went out of the city.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. Then Peter remembered and said to him, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Have* faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea”, and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received* it, and it will be yours.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.’*</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 106:1-18</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 106:1-18</p>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 106:19-48</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 106:19-48</p>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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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.</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>
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