Thursday 3 September 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">1 Kings 11:1-13<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the Israelites, ‘You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you; for they will surely incline your heart to follow their gods;’ Solomon clung to these in love. Among his wives were seven hundred princesses and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon followed Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not completely follow the Lord, as his father David had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who offered incense and sacrificed to their gods.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this matter, that he should not follow other gods; but he did not observe what the Lord commanded. Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, ‘Since this has been your mind and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of your father David I will not do it in your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. I will not, however, tear away the entire kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">James 3:13-4:12</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for* those who make peace.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet* something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, ‘God* yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’? But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘God opposes the proud,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but gives grace to the humble.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters.* Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbour?</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Mark 15:12-21</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Pilate spoke to them again, ‘Then what do you wish me to do* with the man you call* the King of the Jews?’ They shouted back, ‘Crucify him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify him!’ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters*); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 37:1-18</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 37:1-18</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Do not fret because of the wicked;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not be envious of wrongdoers,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for they will soon fade like the grass,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and wither like the green herb.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Trust in the Lord, and do good;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Take delight in the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and he will give you the desires of your heart.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Commit your way to the Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>trust in him, and he will act.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He will make your vindication shine like the light,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the justice of your cause like the noonday.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not fret over those who prosper in their way,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>over those who carry out evil devices.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Do not fret—it leads only to evil.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the wicked shall be cut off,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the meek shall inherit the land,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and delight in abundant prosperity.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The wicked plot against the righteous,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and gnash their teeth at them;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">but the Lord laughs at the wicked,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for he sees that their day is coming.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to bring down the poor and needy,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to kill those who walk uprightly;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">their sword shall enter their own heart,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and their bows shall be broken.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Better is a little that the righteous person has</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>than the abundance of many wicked.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but the Lord upholds the righteous.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord knows the days of the blameless,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and their heritage will abide for ever;</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 37:19-42</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 37:19-42</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">they are not put to shame in evil times,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the days of famine they have abundance.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">But the wicked perish,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but the righteous are generous and keep giving;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but those cursed by him shall be cut off.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Our steps* are made firm by the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when he delights in our* way;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">though we stumble,* we* shall not fall headlong,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for the Lord holds us* by the hand.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I have been young, and now am old,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or their children begging bread.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They are ever giving liberally and lending,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and their children become a blessing.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Depart from evil, and do good;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so you shall abide for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the Lord loves justice;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he will not forsake his faithful ones.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The righteous shall be kept safe for ever,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The righteous shall inherit the land,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and live in it for ever.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and their tongues speak justice.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The law of their God is in their hearts;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>their steps do not slip.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The wicked watch for the righteous,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and seek to kill them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord will not abandon them to their power,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and he will exalt you to inherit the land;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you will look on the destruction of the wicked.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I have seen the wicked oppressing,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Again I* passed by, and they were no more;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>though I sought them, they could not be found.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for there is posterity for the peaceable.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he is their refuge in the time of trouble.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord helps them and rescues them;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because they take refuge in him.</p>
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