Wednesday 30 December 2009<br />
DAILY LECTIONARY<br />
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Email Evangelism, forward to a friend: http://www.dailylectionary.org<br />
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1 Kings 17:17-24<br />
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After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. She then said to Elijah, ‘What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!’ But he said to her, ‘Give me your son.’ He took him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed. He cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?’ Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.’ The Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, ‘See, your son is alive.’ So the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.’<br />
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3 John 1-15<br />
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The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.<br />
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul. I was overjoyed when some of the friends* arrived and testified to your faithfulness to the truth, namely, how you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth.<br />
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Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the friends,* even though they are strangers to you; they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on in a manner worthy of God; for they began their journey for the sake of Christ,* accepting no support from non-believers.* Therefore we ought to support such people, so that we may become co-workers with the truth.<br />
I have written something to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing in spreading false charges against us. And not content with those charges, he refuses to welcome the friends,* and even prevents those who want to do so and expels them from the church.<br />
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Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. Everyone has testified favourably about Demetrius, and so has the truth itself. We also testify for him,* and you know that our testimony is true.<br />
I have much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink; instead I hope to see you soon, and we will talk together face to face.<br />
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Peace to you. The friends send you their greetings. Greet the friends there, each by name.<br />
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John 4:46-54<br />
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Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you* see signs and wonders you will not believe.’ The official said to him, ‘Sir, come down before my little boy dies.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, ‘Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.’ The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he himself believed, along with his whole household. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.<br />
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 20, 21:1-13<br />
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Psalm 20<br />
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The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!<br />
The name of the God of Jacob protect you! <br />
May he send you help from the sanctuary,<br />
and give you support from Zion. <br />
May he remember all your offerings,<br />
and regard with favour your burnt sacrifices.<br />
Selah <br />
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May he grant you your heart’s desire,<br />
and fulfil all your plans. <br />
May we shout for joy over your victory,<br />
and in the name of our God set up our banners.<br />
May the Lord fulfil all your petitions. <br />
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Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed;<br />
he will answer him from his holy heaven<br />
with mighty victories by his right hand. <br />
Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,<br />
but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. <br />
They will collapse and fall,<br />
but we shall rise and stand upright. <br />
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Give victory to the king, O Lord;<br />
answer us when we call.<br />
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Psalm 21:1-13<br />
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In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord,<br />
and in your help how greatly he exults! <br />
You have given him his heart’s desire,<br />
and have not withheld the request of his lips.<br />
Selah <br />
For you meet him with rich blessings;<br />
you set a crown of fine gold on his head. <br />
He asked you for life; you gave it to him—<br />
length of days for ever and ever. <br />
His glory is great through your help;<br />
splendour and majesty you bestow on him. <br />
You bestow on him blessings for ever;<br />
you make him glad with the joy of your presence. <br />
For the king trusts in the Lord,<br />
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.<br />
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Your hand will find out all your enemies;<br />
your right hand will find out those who hate you. <br />
You will make them like a fiery furnace<br />
when you appear.<br />
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,<br />
and fire will consume them. <br />
You will destroy their offspring from the earth,<br />
and their children from among humankind. <br />
If they plan evil against you,<br />
if they devise mischief, they will not succeed. <br />
For you will put them to flight;<br />
you will aim at their faces with your bows. <br />
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Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!<br />
We will sing and praise your power.<br />
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 23, 27<br />
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Psalm 23<br />
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My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?<br />
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? <br />
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;<br />
and by night, but find no rest. <br />
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Yet you are holy,<br />
enthroned on the praises of Israel. <br />
In you our ancestors trusted;<br />
they trusted, and you delivered them. <br />
To you they cried, and were saved;<br />
in you they trusted, and were not put to shame. <br />
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But I am a worm, and not human;<br />
scorned by others, and despised by the people. <br />
All who see me mock at me;<br />
they make mouths at me, they shake their heads; <br />
‘Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver—<br />
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!’ <br />
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Yet it was you who took me from the womb;<br />
you kept me safe on my mother’s breast. <br />
On you I was cast from my birth,<br />
and since my mother bore me you have been my God. <br />
Do not be far from me,<br />
for trouble is near<br />
and there is no one to help. <br />
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Many bulls encircle me,<br />
strong bulls of Bashan surround me; <br />
they open wide their mouths at me,<br />
like a ravening and roaring lion. <br />
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I am poured out like water,<br />
and all my bones are out of joint;<br />
my heart is like wax;<br />
it is melted within my breast; <br />
my mouth* is dried up like a potsherd,<br />
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;<br />
you lay me in the dust of death. <br />
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For dogs are all around me;<br />
a company of evildoers encircles me.<br />
My hands and feet have shrivelled;* <br />
I can count all my bones.<br />
They stare and gloat over me; <br />
they divide my clothes among themselves,<br />
and for my clothing they cast lots. <br />
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But you, O Lord, do not be far away!<br />
O my help, come quickly to my aid! <br />
Deliver my soul from the sword,<br />
my life* from the power of the dog! <br />
Save me from the mouth of the lion! <br />
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From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued* me. <br />
I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;*<br />
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: <br />
You who fear the Lord, praise him!<br />
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;<br />
stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! <br />
For he did not despise or abhor<br />
the affliction of the afflicted;<br />
he did not hide his face from me,*<br />
but heard when I* cried to him. <br />
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From you comes my praise in the great congregation;<br />
my vows I will pay before those who fear him. <br />
The poor* shall eat and be satisfied;<br />
those who seek him shall praise the Lord.<br />
May your hearts live for ever! <br />
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All the ends of the earth shall remember<br />
and turn to the Lord;<br />
and all the families of the nations<br />
shall worship before him.* <br />
For dominion belongs to the Lord,<br />
and he rules over the nations. <br />
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To him,* indeed, shall all who sleep in* the earth bow down;<br />
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,<br />
and I shall live for him.* <br />
Posterity will serve him;<br />
future generations will be told about the Lord, <br />
and* proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,<br />
saying that he has done it.<br />
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Psalm 27<br />
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The Lord is my light and my salvation;<br />
whom shall I fear?<br />
The Lord is the stronghold* of my life;<br />
of whom shall I be afraid? <br />
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When evildoers assail me<br />
to devour my flesh—<br />
my adversaries and foes—<br />
they shall stumble and fall. <br />
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Though an army encamp against me,<br />
my heart shall not fear;<br />
though war rise up against me,<br />
yet I will be confident. <br />
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One thing I asked of the Lord,<br />
that will I seek after:<br />
to live in the house of the Lord<br />
all the days of my life,<br />
to behold the beauty of the Lord,<br />
and to inquire in his temple. <br />
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For he will hide me in his shelter<br />
in the day of trouble;<br />
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;<br />
he will set me high on a rock. <br />
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Now my head is lifted up<br />
above my enemies all around me,<br />
and I will offer in his tent<br />
sacrifices with shouts of joy;<br />
I will sing and make melody to the Lord. <br />
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Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,<br />
be gracious to me and answer me! <br />
‘Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek his face!’<br />
Your face, Lord, do I seek. <br />
Do not hide your face from me. <br />
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Do not turn your servant away in anger,<br />
you who have been my help.<br />
Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,<br />
O God of my salvation! <br />
If my father and mother forsake me,<br />
the Lord will take me up. <br />
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Teach me your way, O Lord,<br />
and lead me on a level path<br />
because of my enemies. <br />
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,<br />
for false witnesses have risen against me,<br />
and they are breathing out violence. <br />
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I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord<br />
in the land of the living. <br />
Wait for the Lord;<br />
be strong, and let your heart take courage;<br />
wait for the Lord!<br />
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