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.

Desolations or an Abundant Harvest?--Oct. 22, 2017


Dear God, we see the desolations on the earth,
but you see a future with hope.
Open our hearts to listen eagerly for your word,
so we may fulfill your plans for us
as we labor for you in an abundant harvest.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 67; 150; 46; 93
Jer. 29:1, 4-14
Acts 16:6-15
Luke 10:1-22, 17-20

Selected Verses
Ps. 46:8
Come, behold the works of the LORD;
          see what desolations he has brought on the earth. 

Jer. 29:11
For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. 

Acts 16:14
A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth.  The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. 

Luke 10:1-2
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.  He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.  …"

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