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.

Near to All Who Call on You in Truth--Jan. 23, 2017


O God, you are near to all who call on you.
When we are in the furnace of adversity,
when we suffer because pleasing you
matters more than pleasing people,
when we need your healing touch,
you are near to all who call on you
in truth.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 57; 145; 85; 47
Isa. 48:1-11
Gal. 1:1-17
Mark 5:21-43

Selected Verses
Ps. 145:18
The LORD is near to all who call on him,
          to all who call on him in truth. 

Isa. 48:10
See, I have refined you, but not like silver;
          I have tested you in the furnace of adversity. 

Gal. 1:10
Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval?  Or am I trying to please people?  If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Mark 5:27-28
[A woman suffering from hemorrhages] had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." 

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