Saturday 29 May 2010<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><!--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">Proverbs 25:15-28<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With patience a ruler may be persuaded,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and a soft tongue can break bones.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or else, having too much, you will vomit it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let your foot be seldom in your neighbour’s house,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>otherwise the neighbour will become weary of you and hate you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like a war club, a sword, or a sharp arrow</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>is one who bears false witness against a neighbour.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like a bad tooth or a lame foot</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>is trust in a faithless person in time of trouble.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like vinegar on a wound*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like a moth in clothing or a worm in wood,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>sorrow gnaws at the human heart.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for you will heap coals of fire on their heads,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and the Lord will reward you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The north wind produces rain,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is better to live in a corner of the housetop</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>than in a house shared with a contentious wife.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like cold water to a thirsty soul,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so is good news from a far country.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>are the righteous who give way before the wicked.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is not good to eat much honey,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or to seek honour on top of honour.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like a city breached, without walls,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>is one who lacks self-control.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1 Timothy 6:6-21</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that* we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made* the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge; by professing it some have missed the mark as regards the faith.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Grace be with you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Matthew 13:36-43</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears* listen!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 30, 32</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 30</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and did not let my foes rejoice over me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and you have healed me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and give thanks to his holy name.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For his anger is but for a moment;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>his favour is for a lifetime.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Weeping may linger for the night,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but joy comes with the morning.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As for me, I said in my prosperity,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘I shall never be moved.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By your favour, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you had established me as a strong mountain;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">you hid your face;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I was dismayed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To you, O Lord, I cried,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and to the Lord I made supplication:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘What profit is there in my death,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>if I go down to the Pit?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Will the dust praise you?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Will it tell of your faithfulness?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O Lord, be my helper!’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have turned my mourning into dancing;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you have taken off my sackcloth</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and clothed me with joy,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">so that my soul* may praise you and not be silent.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 32</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>whose sin is covered.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and in whose spirit there is no deceit.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While I kept silence, my body wasted away</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>through my groaning all day long.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my strength was dried up* as by the heat of summer.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then I acknowledged my sin to you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and I did not hide my iniquity;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and you forgave the guilt of my sin.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore let all who are faithful</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>offer prayer to you;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">at a time of distress,* the rush of mighty waters</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>shall not reach them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You are a hiding-place for me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you preserve me from trouble;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will counsel you with my eye upon you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>else it will not stay near you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Many are the torments of the wicked,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 42, 43</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 42</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As a deer longs for flowing streams,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so my soul longs for you, O God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My soul thirsts for God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for the living God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When shall I come and behold</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the face of God?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My tears have been my food</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>day and night,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">while people say to me continually,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Where is your God?’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These things I remember,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>as I pour out my soul:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">how I went with the throng,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and led them in procession to the house of God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>a multitude keeping festival.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why are you cast down, O my soul,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and why are you disquieted within me?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my help and my God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My soul is cast down within me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>therefore I remember you</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from Mount Mizar.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Deep calls to deep</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>at the thunder of your cataracts;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">all your waves and your billows</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>have gone over me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and at night his song is with me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>a prayer to the God of my life.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I say to God, my rock,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Why have you forgotten me?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why must I walk about mournfully</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because the enemy oppresses me?’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As with a deadly wound in my body,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my adversaries taunt me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">while they say to me continually,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Where is your God?’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why are you cast down, O my soul,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and why are you disquieted within me?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my help and my God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 43</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>against an ungodly people;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">from those who are deceitful and unjust</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>deliver me!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For you are the God in whom I take refuge;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>why have you cast me off?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why must I walk about mournfully</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because of the oppression of the enemy?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O send out your light and your truth;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let them lead me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">let them bring me to your holy hill</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and to your dwelling.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then I will go to the altar of God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to God my exceeding joy;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and I will praise you with the harp,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O God, my God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why are you cast down, O my soul,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and why are you disquieted within me?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my help and my God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<!--EndFragment-->