Tuesday 24 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">Nahum 1:1-13<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A jealous and avenging God is the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the Lord is avenging and wrathful;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and rages against his enemies.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is slow to anger but great in power,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His way is in whirlwind and storm,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the clouds are the dust of his feet.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He rebukes the sea and makes it dry,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and he dries up all the rivers;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bashan and Carmel wither,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the bloom of Lebanon fades.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The mountains quake before him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the hills melt;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the earth heaves before him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the world and all who live in it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Who can stand before his indignation?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Who can endure the heat of his anger?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His wrath is poured out like fire,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and by him the rocks are broken in pieces.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is good,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>a stronghold on a day of trouble;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he protects those who take refuge in him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>even in a rushing flood.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He will make a full end of his adversaries,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and will pursue his enemies into darkness.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why do you plot against the Lord?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He will make an end;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>no adversary will rise up twice.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like thorns they are entangled,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>like drunkards they are drunk;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they are consumed like dry straw.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From you one has gone out</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who plots evil against the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>one who counsels wickedness.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thus says the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Though they are at full strength and many,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they will be cut off and pass away.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Though I have afflicted you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will afflict you no more.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And now I will break off his yoke from you</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and snap the bonds that bind you.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1 Peter 1:13-25</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore prepare your minds for action;* discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth* so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply* from the heart.* You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.* For</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘All flesh is like grass</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and all its glory like the flower of grass.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The grass withers,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the flower falls,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">but the word of the Lord endures for ever.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That word is the good news that was announced to you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Matthew 19:13-22</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then someone came to him and said, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He said to him, ‘Which ones?’ And Jesus said, ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honour your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘I have kept all these;* what do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money* to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 121, 122, 123</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 121</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I lift up my eyes to the hills—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from where will my help come?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My help comes from the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who made heaven and earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He will not let your foot be moved;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he who keeps you will not slumber.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He who keeps Israel</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>will neither slumber nor sleep.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord is your keeper;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the Lord is your shade at your right hand.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The sun shall not strike you by day,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>nor the moon by night.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord will keep you from all evil;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he will keep your life.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord will keep</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your going out and your coming in</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from this time on and for evermore.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 122</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was glad when they said to me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our feet are standing</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>within your gates, O Jerusalem.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jerusalem—built as a city</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that is bound firmly together.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To it the tribes go up,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the tribes of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">as was decreed for Israel,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to give thanks to the name of the Lord.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For there the thrones for judgement were set up,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the thrones of the house of David.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘May they prosper who love you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Peace be within your walls,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and security within your towers.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the sake of my relatives and friends</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will seek your good.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 123</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To you I lift up my eyes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O you who are enthroned in the heavens!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the eyes of servants</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>look to the hand of their master,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">as the eyes of a maid</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to the hand of her mistress,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">so our eyes look to the Lord our God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>until he has mercy upon us.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for we have had more than enough of contempt.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our soul has had more than its fill</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>of the scorn of those who are at ease,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>of the contempt of the proud.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 124, 125, 126</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 124</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If it had not been the Lord who was on our side</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>—let Israel now say—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">if it had not been the Lord who was on our side,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when our enemies attacked us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">then they would have swallowed us up alive,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when their anger was kindled against us;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">then the flood would have swept us away,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the torrent would have gone over us;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">then over us would have gone</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the raging waters.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Blessed be the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who has not given us</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as prey to their teeth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We have escaped like a bird</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from the snare of the fowlers;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the snare is broken,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and we have escaped.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our help is in the name of the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who made heaven and earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 125</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>which cannot be moved, but abides for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the mountains surround Jerusalem,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so the Lord surrounds his people,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from this time on and for evermore.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>on the land allotted to the righteous,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">so that the righteous may not stretch out</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>their hands to do wrong.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and to those who are upright in their hearts.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the Lord will lead away with evildoers.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Peace be upon Israel!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 126</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>we were like those who dream.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then our mouth was filled with laughter,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and our tongue with shouts of joy;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">then it was said among the nations,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘The Lord has done great things for them.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord has done great things for us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and we rejoiced.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Restore our fortunes, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>like the watercourses in the Negeb.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">May those who sow in tears</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>reap with shouts of joy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those who go out weeping,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>bearing the seed for sowing,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">shall come home with shouts of joy,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>carrying their sheaves.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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