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.

God Sent You, Lord Jesus--Jan. 17, 2018


God sent you, Lord Jesus;
you give the Spirit without measure.
Take away our inclination to sluggishness
and the temptation to curse innocents
over our own shortcomings.

Teach us to imitate
the faith and patience of others,
to hold you in awe, and to hope
in your steadfast love.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 15; 147:1-11; 48; 4
Gen. 9:18-29
Heb. 6:1-12
John 3:22-36

Selected Verses
Ps. 147:11
…but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
          in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Gen. 9:24-25
When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said,
"Cursed be Canaan;
          lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers."

Heb. 6:12
…so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

John 3:34
"…He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.  …"  [John the Baptist to his disciples and a questioner]

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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