Wednesday 16 June 2010<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><!--StartFragment-->
<p class="MsoNormal">DAILY LECTIONARY</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Email Evangelism, forward to a friend: http://www.dailylectionary.org</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Numbers 11:24-35<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men,* said, ‘My lord Moses, stop them!’ But Moses said to him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!’ And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then a wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quails from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, about two cubits deep on the ground. So the people worked all that day and night and all the next day, gathering the quails; the least anyone gathered was ten homers; and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah,* because there they buried the people who had the craving. From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Romans 1:28-2:11</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters,* insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious towards parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. They know God’s decree, that those who practise such things deserve to die—yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practise them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgement on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. You say,* ‘We know that God’s judgement on those who do such things is in accordance with truth.’ Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgement of God? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgement will be revealed. For he will repay according to each one’s deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honour and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honour and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Matthew 18:1-9</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling-block comes!</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell* of fire.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 119:97-120</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 119:97-120</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, how I love your law!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is my meditation all day long.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for it is always with me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have more understanding than all my teachers,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for your decrees are my meditation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I understand more than the aged,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for I keep your precepts.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hold back my feet from every evil way,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in order to keep your word.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I do not turn away from your ordinances,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for you have taught me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How sweet are your words to my taste,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>sweeter than honey to my mouth!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Through your precepts I get understanding;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>therefore I hate every false way.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your word is a lamp to my feet</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and a light to my path.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to observe your righteous ordinances.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am severely afflicted;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>give me life, O Lord, according to your word.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and teach me your ordinances.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hold my life in my hand continually,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but I do not forget your law.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The wicked have laid a snare for me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but I do not stray from your precepts.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your decrees are my heritage for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they are the joy of my heart.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I incline my heart to perform your statutes</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for ever, to the end.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hate the double-minded,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but I love your law.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You are my hiding-place and my shield;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I hope in your word.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Go away from me, you evildoers,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that I may keep the commandments of my God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and let me not be put to shame in my hope.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hold me up, that I may be safe</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and have regard for your statutes continually.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You spurn all who go astray from your statutes;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for their cunning is in vain.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All the wicked of the earth you count as dross;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>therefore I love your decrees.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My flesh trembles for fear of you,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and I am afraid of your judgements.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 81, 82</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 81</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sing aloud to God our strength;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>shout for joy to the God of Jacob.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Raise a song, sound the tambourine,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the sweet lyre with the harp.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Blow the trumpet at the new moon,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>at the full moon, on our festal day.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For it is a statute for Israel,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>an ordinance of the God of Jacob.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He made it a decree in Joseph,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when he went out over* the land of Egypt.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hear a voice I had not known:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘I relieved your* shoulder of the burden;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your* hands were freed from the basket.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In distress you called, and I rescued you;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I answered you in the secret place of thunder;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I tested you at the waters of Meribah.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hear, O my people, while I admonish you;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>O Israel, if you would but listen to me!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There shall be no strange god among you;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you shall not bow down to a foreign god.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am the Lord your God,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘But my people did not listen to my voice;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Israel would not submit to me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>to follow their own counsels.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O that my people would listen to me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>that Israel would walk in my ways!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and turn my hand against their foes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and their doom would last for ever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I would feed you* with the finest of the wheat,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.’</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 82</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">God has taken his place in the divine council;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>in the midst of the gods he holds judgement:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘How long will you judge unjustly</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and show partiality to the wicked?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Give justice to the weak and the orphan;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rescue the weak and the needy;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>deliver them from the hand of the wicked.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They have neither knowledge nor understanding,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>they walk around in darkness;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>all the foundations of the earth are shaken.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I say, ‘You are gods,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>children of the Most High, all of you;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">nevertheless, you shall die like mortals,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and fall like any prince.’*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rise up, O God, judge the earth;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for all the nations belong to you!</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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