I am an emeritus professor from Cornell University and was a Commissioned Lay Preacher in the Presbyterian Church (USA). For many years I have followed the Daily Lectionary as printed in the Mission Yearbook of my church. For each day of a two-year cycle, the lectionary lists four psalms and three other scriptural passages--usually one from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament. My practice is to copy down a verse or two from one of the psalms and from each of the other three passages. After I have written out all four selections, I reflect upon them, rearrange their order, and incorporate them into a meditation. Sometimes I retain much of the original wording; sometimes all that remains of a selection is an idea that was stimulated when I read the original words. All selections are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. For the Daily Lectionary, see the link below.

A Way of Salvation--Sept. 17, 2014


O God, you are great and abundant in power--
so far beyond anything we can comprehend
that our every effort ends only in futility.

Yet you have shown us a way of salvation--
to serve Jesus and follow him, for where he is,
there shall his servant be, and whoever serves him
you will honor.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 15; 147:1-11; 48; 4
Job 42:1-17
Acts 16:16-24
John 12:20-26

Selected Verses
Ps. 147:5
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
          his understanding is beyond measure. 

Job 42:3b
"…Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.  …"  [Job answering the LORD]

Acts 16:17
While [the slave girl who had a spirit of divination] followed Paul and us, she would cry out, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation." 

John 12:26
"…Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.  …"  [Jesus to Philip and Andrew]
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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