Monday 9 August 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">Judges 12:1-7<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, ‘Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down over you!’ Jephthah said to them, ‘My people and I were engaged in conflict with the Ammonites who oppressed us* severely. But when I called you, you did not deliver me from their hand. When I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life in my hand, and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?’ Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, ‘You are fugitives from Ephraim, you Gileadites—in the heart of Ephraim and Manasseh.’* Then the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. Whenever one of the fugitives of Ephraim said, ‘Let me go over’, the men of Gilead would say to him, ‘Are you an Ephraimite?’ When he said, ‘No’, they said to him, ‘Then say Shibboleth’, and he said, ‘Sibboleth’, for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites fell at that time.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in his town in Gilead.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Acts 5:12-26</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by. A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then the high priest took action; he and all who were with him (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), being filled with jealousy, arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, brought them out, and said, ‘Go, stand in the temple and tell the people the whole message about this life.’ When they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and went on with their teaching.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">When the high priest and those with him arrived, they called together the council and the whole body of the elders of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the temple police went there, they did not find them in the prison; so they returned and reported, ‘We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.’ Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were perplexed about them, wondering what might be going on. Then someone arrived and announced, ‘Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!’ Then the captain went with the temple police and brought them, but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">John 3:1-21</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus* by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’* Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.* Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You* must be born from above.”* The wind* blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you* do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.* And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.*</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 89:1-18</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 89:1-18</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord,* for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I have sworn to my servant David:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“I will establish your descendants for ever,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and build your throne for all generations.” ’</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">Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">a God feared in the council of the holy ones,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>great and awesome* above all that are around him?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O Lord God of hosts,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who is as mighty as you, O Lord?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Your faithfulness surrounds you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You rule the raging of the sea;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>when its waves rise, you still them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You crushed Rahab like a carcass;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the world and all that is in it—you have founded them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The north and the south*—you created them;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have a mighty arm;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>strong is your hand, high your right hand.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Happy are the people who know the festal shout,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they exult in your name all day long,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and extol* your righteousness.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For you are the glory of their strength;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>by your favour our horn is exalted.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For our shield belongs to the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>our king to the Holy One of Israel.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 89:19-52</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 89:19-52</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘I have set the crown* on one who is mighty,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I have exalted one chosen from the people.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have found my servant David;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with my holy oil I have anointed him;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">my hand shall always remain with him;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my arm also shall strengthen him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The enemy shall not outwit him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the wicked shall not humble him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will crush his foes before him</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and strike down those who hate him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and in my name his horn shall be exalted.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will set his hand on the sea</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and his right hand on the rivers.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He shall cry to me, “You are my Father,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my God, and the Rock of my salvation!”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will make him the firstborn,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the highest of the kings of the earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For-ever I will keep my steadfast love for him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and my covenant with him will stand firm.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will establish his line for ever,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and his throne as long as the heavens endure.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If his children forsake my law</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and do not walk according to my ordinances,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">if they violate my statutes</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and do not keep my commandments,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">then I will punish their transgression with the rod</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and their iniquity with scourges;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">but I will not remove from him my steadfast love,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or be false to my faithfulness.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will not violate my covenant,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or alter the word that went forth from my lips.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will not lie to David.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His line shall continue for ever,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and his throne endure before me like the sun.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It shall be established for ever like the moon,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>an enduring witness in the skies.’</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">But now you have spurned and rejected him;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you are full of wrath against your anointed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have renounced the covenant with your servant;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you have defiled his crown in the dust.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have broken through all his walls;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you have laid his strongholds in ruins.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All who pass by plunder him;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he has become the scorn of his neighbours.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have exalted the right hand of his foes;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you have made all his enemies rejoice.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and you have not supported him in battle.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have removed the sceptre from his hand,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and hurled his throne to the ground.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have cut short the days of his youth;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>you have covered him with shame.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span><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">How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself for ever?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How long will your wrath burn like fire?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Remember how short my time is—*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for what vanity you have created all mortals!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Who can live and never see death?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Who can escape the power of Sheol?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Selah</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>which by your faithfulness you swore to David?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">with which your enemies taunt, O Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Blessed be the Lord for ever.Amen and Amen.</p>
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