Saturday 19 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">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">2 Kings 2:1-18<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets* who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I know; keep silent.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Elijah said to him, ‘Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets* who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he answered, ‘Yes, I know; be silent.’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets* also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.’ Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ He responded, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.’ As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, ‘Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, ‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When the company of prophets* who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, ‘The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.’ They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. They said to him, ‘See now, we have fifty strong men among your servants; please let them go and seek your master; it may be that the spirit of the Lord has caught him up and thrown him down on some mountain or into some valley.’ He responded, ‘No, do not send them.’ But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, ‘Send them.’ So they sent fifty men who searched for three days but did not find him. When they came back to him (he had remained at Jericho), he said to them, ‘Did I not say to you, Do not go?’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1 Corinthians 4:1-7</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they should be found trustworthy. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgement before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I have applied all this to Apollos and myself for your benefit, brothers and sisters,* so that you may learn through us the meaning of the saying, ‘Nothing beyond what is written’, so that none of you will be puffed up in favour of one against another. For who sees anything different in you?* What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Matthew 5:17-20</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter,* not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks* one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 75, 76</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 75</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">We give thanks to you, O God;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>we give thanks; your name is near.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">People tell of your wondrous deeds.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">At the set time that I appoint</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will judge with equity.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>it is I who keep its pillars steady.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast’,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">do not lift up your horn on high,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or speak with insolent neck.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For not from the east or from the west</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and not from the wilderness comes lifting up;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">but it is God who executes judgement,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>putting down one and lifting up another.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with foaming wine, well mixed;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he will pour a draught from it,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and all the wicked of the earth</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>shall drain it down to the dregs.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I will rejoice* for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 76</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">In Judah God is known,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>his name is great in Israel.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His abode has been established in Salem,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>his dwelling-place in Zion.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There he broke the flashing arrows,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Glorious are you, more majestic</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>than the everlasting mountains.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The stout-hearted were stripped of their spoil;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they sank into sleep;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">none of the troops</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>was able to lift a hand.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>both rider and horse lay stunned.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But you indeed are awesome!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Who can stand before you</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when once your anger is roused?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From the heavens you uttered judgement;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the earth feared and was still</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">when God rose up to establish judgement,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to save all the oppressed of the earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Human wrath serves only to praise you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when you bind the last bit of your* wrath around you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Make vows to the Lord your God, and perform them;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let all who are around him bring gifts</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to the one who is awesome,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who cuts off the spirit of princes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 23, 27</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 23</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He makes me lie down in green pastures;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he leads me beside still waters;*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he restores my soul.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He leads me in right paths*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for his name’s sake.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Even though I walk through the darkest valley,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I fear no evil;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for you are with me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your rod and your staff—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they comfort me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You prepare a table before me</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the presence of my enemies;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">you anoint my head with oil;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my cup overflows.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Surely* goodness and mercy* shall follow me</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>all the days of my life,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my whole life long.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 27</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is my light and my salvation;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>whom shall I fear?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is the stronghold* of my life;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>of whom shall I be afraid?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When evildoers assail me</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to devour my flesh—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">my adversaries and foes—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they shall stumble and fall.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Though an army encamp against me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my heart shall not fear;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">though war rise up against me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>yet I will be confident.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One thing I asked of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that will I seek after:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to live in the house of the Lord</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>all the days of my life,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to behold the beauty of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and to inquire in his temple.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For he will hide me in his shelter</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the day of trouble;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he will set me high on a rock.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now my head is lifted up</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>above my enemies all around me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and I will offer in his tent</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>sacrifices with shouts of joy;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will sing and make melody to the Lord.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>be gracious to me and answer me!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek his face!’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Your face, Lord, do I seek.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Do not hide your face from me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not turn your servant away in anger,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you who have been my help.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O God of my salvation!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If my father and mother forsake me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the Lord will take me up.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Teach me your way, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and lead me on a level path</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because of my enemies.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for false witnesses have risen against me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and they are breathing out violence.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the land of the living.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wait for the Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>be strong, and let your heart take courage;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>wait for the Lord!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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