Saturday 2 October 2010<span style="mso-spacerun:
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<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">Hosea 11:1-9<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">When Israel was a child, I loved him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and out of Egypt I called my son.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The more I* called them,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the more they went from me;*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they kept sacrificing to the Baals,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and offering incense to idols.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I took them up in my* arms;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but they did not know that I healed them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I led them with cords of human kindness,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>with bands of love.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was to them like those</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who lift infants to their cheeks.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I bent down to them and fed them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They shall return to the land of Egypt,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and Assyria shall be their king,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because they have refused to return to me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The sword rages in their cities,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>it consumes their oracle-priests,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and devours because of their schemes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My people are bent on turning away from me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>To the Most High they call,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but he does not raise them up at all.*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How can I give you up, Ephraim?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How can I hand you over, O Israel?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How can I make you like Admah?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How can I treat you like Zeboiim?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My heart recoils within me;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my compassion grows warm and tender.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will not execute my fierce anger;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will not again destroy Ephraim;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">for I am God and no mortal,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the Holy One in your midst,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and I will not come in wrath.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Acts 22:17-29</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">‘After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw Jesus* saying to me, “Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.” And I said, “Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.” Then he said to me, “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.” ’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Up to this point they listened to him, but then they shouted, ‘Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.’ And while they were shouting, throwing off their cloaks, and tossing dust into the air, the tribune directed that he was to be brought into the barracks, and ordered him to be examined by flogging, to find out the reason for this outcry against him. But when they had tied him up with thongs,* Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, ‘Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who is uncondemned?’ When the centurion heard that, he went to the tribune and said to him, ‘What are you about to do? This man is a Roman citizen.’ The tribune came and asked Paul,* ‘Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ The tribune answered, ‘It cost me a large sum of money to get my citizenship.’ Paul said, ‘But I was born a citizen.’ Immediately those who were about to examine him drew back from him; and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Luke 6:27-38</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.* Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morning Psalms: Psalm 107:33-43. 108</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 107:33-43</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He turns rivers into a desert,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>springs of water into thirsty ground,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">a fruitful land into a salty waste,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He turns a desert into pools of water,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>a parched land into springs of water.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And there he lets the hungry live,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and they establish a town to live in;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">they sow fields, and plant vineyards,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and get a fruitful yield.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By his blessing they multiply greatly,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and he does not let their cattle decrease.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When they are diminished and brought low</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he pours contempt on princes</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and makes them wander in trackless wastes;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">but he raises up the needy out of distress,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and makes their families like flocks.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The upright see it and are glad;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and all wickedness stops its mouth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let those who are wise give heed to these things,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 108</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will sing and make melody.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Awake, my soul!*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Awake, O harp and lyre!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will awake the dawn.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and I will sing praises to you among the nations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and let your glory be over all the earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Give victory with your right hand, and answer me,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>so that those whom you love may be rescued.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">God has promised in his sanctuary:*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘With exultation I will divide up Shechem,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and portion out the Vale of Succoth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Ephraim is my helmet;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Judah is my sceptre.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Moab is my wash-basin;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>on Edom I hurl my shoe;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>over Philistia I shout in triumph.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Who will bring me to the fortified city?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Who will lead me to Edom?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Have you not rejected us, O God?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You do not go out, O God, with our armies.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O grant us help against the foe,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for human help is worthless.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With God we shall do valiantly;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>it is he who will tread down our foes.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evening Psalms: Psalm 33</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Psalm 33</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Praise befits the upright.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Praise the Lord with the lyre;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sing to him a new song;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the word of the Lord is upright,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and all his work is done in faithfulness.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He loves righteousness and justice;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and all their host by the breath of his mouth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he put the deeps in storehouses.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let all the earth fear the Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For he spoke, and it came to be;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he commanded, and it stood firm.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he frustrates the plans of the peoples.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The counsel of the Lord stands for ever,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the thoughts of his heart to all generations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lord looks down from heaven;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he sees all humankind.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From where he sits enthroned he watches</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>all the inhabitants of the earth—</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he who fashions the hearts of them all,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and observes all their deeds.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A king is not saved by his great army;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The war horse is a vain hope for victory,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and by its great might it cannot save.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>on those who hope in his steadfast love,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">to deliver their soul from death,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and to keep them alive in famine.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our soul waits for the Lord;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>he is our help and shield.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our heart is glad in him,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>because we trust in his holy name.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>even as we hope in you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">******************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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