<html><body><span style="font-family:Verdana; color:#000000; font-size:10pt;"><div><!--StartFragment-->
<p class="MsoNormal" style="">Monday 13 December 2010</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">DAILY LECTIONARY</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Email Evangelism, forward to a friend:
<a href="http://www.dailylectionary.org">http://www.dailylectionary.org</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">******************************************************************</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Isaiah 8:16-9:1<o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples.
I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I
will hope in him. See, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs
and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. Now if
people say to you, ‘Consult the ghosts and the familiar spirits that chirp and
mutter; should not a people consult their gods, the dead on behalf of the
living, for teaching and for instruction?’ surely, those who speak like this
will have no dawn! They will pass through the land,* greatly distressed and
hungry; when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will curse* their king
and their gods. They will turn their faces upwards, or they will look to the
earth, but will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they
will be thrust into thick darkness.*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">*But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish.
In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of
Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the
land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.<o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">******************************************************************</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">2 Peter 1:1-11</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples.
I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I
will hope in him. See, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs
and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. Now if
people say to you, ‘Consult the ghosts and the familiar spirits that chirp and
mutter; should not a people consult their gods, the dead on behalf of the
living, for teaching and for instruction?’ surely, those who speak like this
will have no dawn! They will pass through the land,* greatly distressed and
hungry; when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will curse* their king
and their gods. They will turn their faces upwards, or they will look to the
earth, but will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they
will be thrust into thick darkness.*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">*But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish.
In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of
Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the
land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">******************************************************************</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Luke 22:39-53</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of
Olives; and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he said to
them, ‘Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.’* Then he withdrew
from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, ‘Father, if you are
willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.’ [[ Then
an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. In his anguish he
prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling
down on the ground.]]* When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and
found them sleeping because of grief, and he said to them, ‘Why are you sleeping?
Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.’*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>While he was
still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the
twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to
him, ‘Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?’ When
those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, ‘Lord, should we
strike with the sword?’ Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest
and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, ‘No more of this!’ And he touched
his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of
the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, ‘Have you come out with
swords and clubs as if I were a bandit? When I was with you day after day in
the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power
of darkness!’<o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">******************************************************************</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Morning Psalms: Psalm 41, 52</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Psalm 41</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Happy are those who consider the poor;*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>the Lord
delivers them in the day of trouble. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>they are
called happy in the land.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>You do
not give them up to the will of their enemies. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>in their
illness you heal all their infirmities.* </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">As for me, I said, ‘O Lord, be gracious to me;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>heal me,
for I have sinned against you.’ </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">My enemies wonder in malice</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>when I
will die, and my name perish. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">And when they come to see me, they utter empty words,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>while
their hearts gather mischief;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>when
they go out, they tell it abroad. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">All who hate me whisper together about me;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>they
imagine the worst for me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>that I
will not rise again from where I lie. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>who ate
of my bread, has lifted the heel against me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>and
raise me up, that I may repay them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">By this I know that you are pleased with me;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>because
my enemy has not triumphed over me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">But you have upheld me because of my integrity,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>and set
me in your presence for ever. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>from
everlasting to everlasting.Amen and Amen.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Psalm 52</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Why do you boast, O mighty one,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>of
mischief done against the godly?*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>All day
long you are plotting destruction.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Your tongue is like a sharp razor,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>you
worker of treachery. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">You love evil more than good,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>and
lying more than speaking the truth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>Selah </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">You love all words that devour,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>O deceitful
tongue. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">But God will break you down for ever;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>he will
snatch and tear you from your tent;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>he will
uproot you from the land of the living.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>Selah </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">The righteous will see, and fear,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>and will
laugh at the evildoer,* saying, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">‘See the one who would not take</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>refuge
in God,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">but trusted in abundant riches,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>and
sought refuge in wealth!’* </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">But I am like a green olive tree</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>in the
house of God.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">I trust in the steadfast love of God</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>for ever
and ever. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">I will thank you for ever,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>because
of what you have done.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">In the presence of the faithful</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>I will
proclaim* your name, for it is good.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">******************************************************************</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Evening Psalms: Psalm 44</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Psalm 44</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">We have heard with our ears, O God,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>our
ancestors have told us,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">what deeds you performed in their days,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>in the
days of old: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">you with your own hand drove out the nations,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>but them
you planted;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">you afflicted the peoples,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>but them
you set free; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">for not by their own sword did they win the land,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>nor did
their own arm give them victory;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">but your right hand, and your arm,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>and the
light of your countenance,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>for you
delighted in them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">You are my King and my God;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>you
command* victories for Jacob. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Through you we push down our foes;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>through
your name we tread down our assailants. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">For not in my bow do I trust,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>nor can
my sword save me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">But you have saved us from our foes,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>and have
put to confusion those who hate us. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">In God we have boasted continually,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>and we
will give thanks to your name for ever.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>Selah </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Yet you have rejected us and abased us,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>and have
not gone out with our armies. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">You made us turn back from the foe,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>and our
enemies have taken spoil for themselves. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">You have made us like sheep for slaughter,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>and have
scattered us among the nations. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">You have sold your people for a trifle,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="">
</span>demanding no high price for them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">You have made us the taunt of our neighbours,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>the
derision and scorn of those around us. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">You have made us a byword among the nations,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>a
laughing-stock* among the peoples. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">All day long my disgrace is before me,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>and
shame has covered my face </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">at the words of the taunters and revilers,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>at the
sight of the enemy and the avenger. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">All this has come upon us,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>yet we
have not forgotten you,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>or been
false to your covenant. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Our heart has not turned back,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>nor have
our steps departed from your way, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>and
covered us with deep darkness. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">If we had forgotten the name of our God,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>or
spread out our hands to a strange god, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">would not God discover this?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>For he
knows the secrets of the heart. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Because of you we are being killed all day long,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>and
accounted as sheep for the slaughter. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>Awake,
do not cast us off for ever! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Why do you hide your face?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>Why do
you forget our affliction and oppression? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">For we sink down to the dust;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>our
bodies cling to the ground. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">Rise up, come to our help.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"><span style=""> </span>Redeem
us for the sake of your steadfast love.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;">******************************************************************</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size:12pt;"> <o:p style=""></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
</p></span></body></html>