Monday 23 November 2009<!--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">Joel 3:1-2,9-17<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For then, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgement with them there, on account of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations. They have divided my land,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Proclaim this among the nations:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Prepare war,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>stir up the warriors.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let all the soldiers draw near,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let them come up.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Beat your ploughshares into swords,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and your pruning-hooks into spears;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let the weakling say, ‘I am a warrior.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Come quickly,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>all you nations all around,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>gather yourselves there.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bring down your warriors, O Lord.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let the nations rouse themselves,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for there I will sit to judge</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>all the neighbouring nations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Put in the sickle,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for the harvest is ripe.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Go in, tread,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for the wine press is full.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The vats overflow,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for their wickedness is great.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Multitudes, multitudes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the valley of decision!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the day of the Lord is near</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the valley of decision.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The sun and the moon are darkened,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the stars withdraw their shining.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord roars from Zion,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and utters his voice from Jerusalem,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the heavens and the earth shake.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the Lord is a refuge for his people,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>a stronghold for the people of Israel.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So you shall know that I, the Lord your God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>dwell in Zion, my holy mountain.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And Jerusalem shall be holy,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and strangers shall never again pass through it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1 Peter 1:1-12</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">May grace and peace be yours in abundance.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice,* even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen* him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated, when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Matthew 19:1-12</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he cured them there.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?’ He answered, ‘Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning “made them male and female”, and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’ They said to him, ‘Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?’ He said to them, ‘It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but at the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery.’*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>His disciples said to him, ‘If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.’ But he said to them, ‘Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.’</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 106:1-18</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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