It took a year to read the Bible, then almost 9 months to read the Apocrypha. Now, I'm going to try to offer reflections on the Narrative Lectionary. But, I won't be posting daily--at least, for a while.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Daily Prayer, Thursday, February 14, 2013

You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
will say to the Lord,
“My refuge and my fortress;
My God, in whom I trust.”

Morning
Invitatory Psalm 150
Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary!
Praise God in his fortress, the sky!
2 Praise God in his mighty acts!
Praise God as suits his incredible greatness!
3 Praise God with the blast of the ram’s horn!
Praise God with lute and lyre!
4 Praise God with drum and dance!
Praise God with strings and pipe!
5 Praise God with loud cymbals!
Praise God with clashing cymbals!
6 Let every living thing praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!
[Common English Bible]

Psalm 73
Truly God is good to the upright,
   to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant;
   I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For they have no pain;
   their bodies are sound and sleek.
They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not plagued like other people.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.
Their eyes swell out with fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
They set their mouths against heaven,
   and their tongues range over the earth.
Therefore the people turn and praise them,
   and find no fault in them.
And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Such are the wicked; always at ease,
   they increase in riches.

All in vain I have kept my heart clean
   and washed my hands in innocence.
For all day long I have been plagued,
   and am punished every morning.
If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,”
   I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
But when I thought how to understand this,
   it seemed to me a wearisome task,
   until I went into the sanctuary of God;
   then I perceived their end.
Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
How they are destroyed in a moment,
   swept away utterly by terrors!
They are like a dream when one awakes;
on awaking you despise their phantoms.

When my soul was embittered,
   when I was pricked in heart,
I was stupid and ignorant;
I was like a brute beast toward you.
Nevertheless I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
   and afterward you will receive me with honor.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
   but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;
you put an end to those who are false to you.

But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
   to tell of all your works.


Daily Lectionary Reading, Luke 4:1-13
Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. 2 There he was tempted for forty days by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and afterward Jesus was starving. 3 The devil said to him, “ Since you are God’s Son, command this stone to become a loaf of bread. ”

4 Jesus replied, “ It’s written, People won’t live only by bread. ” [g]

5 Next the devil led him to a high place and showed him in a single instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 The devil said, “ I will give you this whole domain and the glory of all these kingdoms. It’s been entrusted to me and I can give it to anyone I want. 7 Therefore, if you will worship me, it will all be yours. ”

8 Jesus answered, “It’s written, You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” [h]

9 The devil brought him into Jerusalem and stood him at the highest point of the temple. He said to him, “ Since you are God’s Son, throw yourself down from here; 10 for it’s written: He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you 11 and they will take you up in their hands so that you won’t hit your foot on a stone.  [i]”

12 Jesus answered, “ It’s been said, Don’t test the Lord your God.” [j] 13 After finishing every temptation, the devil departed from him until the next opportunity.
_________________________________________________
g  Deut 8:3
h  Deut 6:13
i  Ps 91:11-12
j  Deut 6:16 [Common English Bible]

Prayer for Today: God when we fear that we will not always have enough, when we fear when we will not be able to control enough, when we fear that we will not always be safe enough, remind us that you  have been with us and will continue to be with us. Remind us to turn to you and give up the notion that everything good and necessary is due to our deeds alone. Amen.

Midday Psalm 119:113-120
I hate the double-minded, but I love your law.
You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.
Go away from me, you evildoers,
   that I may keep the commandments of my God.
Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,
   and let me not be put to shame in my hope.
Hold me up, that I may be safe
   and have regard for your statutes continually.
You spurn all who go astray from your statutes;
  for their cunning is in vain.
All the wicked of the earth you count as dross;
  therefore I love your decrees.
My flesh trembles for fear of you,
  and I am afraid of your judgments.    

Evening
Psalm 105
O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
   his miracles,  and the judgments he uttered,
O offspring of his servant Abraham,
   children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
He is mindful of his covenant forever,
   of the word that he commanded,
   for a thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
   to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
   as your portion for an inheritance.”

When they were few in number,
of little account, and strangers in it,
wandering from nation to nation,
   from one kingdom to another people,
he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones;
   do my prophets no harm.”

When he summoned famine against the land,
   and broke every staff of bread,
he had sent a man ahead of them,
   Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
His feet were hurt with fetters,
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
until what he had said came to pass,
   the word of the Lord kept testing him.
The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house,
   and ruler of all his possessions,
to instruct his officials at his pleasure,
   and to teach his elders wisdom.

Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
And the Lord made his people very fruitful,
   and made them stronger than their foes,
whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,
   to deal craftily with his servants.

He sent his servant Moses,
   and Aaron whom he had chosen.
They performed his signs among them,
   and miracles in the land of Ham.
He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
they rebelled against his words.
He turned their waters into blood,
   and caused their fish to die.
Their land swarmed with frogs,
   even in the chambers of their kings.
He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
   and gnats throughout their country.
He gave them hail for rain,
   and lightning that flashed through their land.
He struck their vines and fig trees,
   and shattered the trees of their country.
He spoke, and the locusts came,
   and young locusts without number;
they devoured all the vegetation in their land,
  and ate up the fruit of their ground.
He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
   the first issue of all their strength.

Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold,
   and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they departed,
   for dread of them had fallen upon it.
He spread a cloud for a covering,
   and fire to give light by night.
They asked, and he brought quails,
   and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
For he remembered his holy promise,
   and Abraham, his servant.

So he brought his people out with joy,
   his chosen ones with singing.
He gave them the lands of the nations,
   and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!

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