Saturday 9 January 2010<!--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>
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<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Isaiah 45:14-19<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thus says the Lord:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the Sabeans, tall of stature,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">shall come over to you and be yours,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they shall follow you;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They will make supplication to you, saying,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘God is with you alone, and there is no other;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>there is no god besides him.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Truly, you are a God who hides himself,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O God of Israel, the Saviour.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All of them are put to shame and confounded,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the makers of idols go in confusion together.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But Israel is saved by the Lord</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with everlasting salvation;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">you shall not be put to shame or confounded</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to all eternity.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For thus says the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who created the heavens</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(he is God!),</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who formed the earth and made it</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(he established it;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he did not create it a chaos,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he formed it to be inhabited!):</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am the Lord, and there is no other.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I did not speak in secret,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in a land of darkness;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Seek me in chaos.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I the Lord speak the truth,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I declare what is right.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Colossians 1:24-2:7</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face. I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself,* in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives* in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">John 8:12-19</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’ Then the Pharisees said to him, ‘You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.’ Jesus answered, ‘Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards;* I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgement is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father* who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.’ Then they said to him, ‘Where is your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’<o:p></o:p></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>
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<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>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 131, 132</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 131</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my eyes are not raised too high;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I do not occupy myself with things</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>too great and too marvellous for me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I have calmed and quieted my soul,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>like a weaned child with its mother;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O Israel, hope in the Lord</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 132</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O Lord, remember in David’s favour</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>all the hardships he endured;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">how he swore to the Lord</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘I will not enter my house</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or get into my bed;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will not give sleep to my eyes</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or slumber to my eyelids,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">until I find a place for the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>a dwelling-place for the Mighty One of Jacob.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We heard of it in Ephrathah;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>we found it in the fields of Jaar.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Let us go to his dwelling-place;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let us worship at his footstool.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting-place,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you and the ark of your might.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and let your faithful shout for joy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For your servant David’s sake</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>do not turn away the face of your anointed one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord swore to David a sure oath</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from which he will not turn back:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘One of the sons of your body</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will set on your throne.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If your sons keep my covenant</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and my decrees that I shall teach them,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">their sons also, for evermore,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>shall sit on your throne.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the Lord has chosen Zion;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he has desired it for his habitation:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘This is my resting-place for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>here I will reside, for I have desired it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will abundantly bless its provisions;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will satisfy its poor with bread.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Its priests I will clothe with salvation,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and its faithful will shout for joy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but on him, his crown will gleam.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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