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.


As Christ Resisted the Devil--April 26, 2012

You are king over the nations,
though they do not act as if you were.

You have made us free,
but we prefer slavery.

In Christ you give us riches and wisdom
and understanding, but we persist in ignorance.

You would reconcile us to one
another and unite our hearts in love;

but we battle on, full
of enmity and strife.

Strengthen us to resist temptations,
as Christ resisted the devil.


Lectionary Readings
Ps. 47; 147:12-20; 68; 113
Exod. 20:1-21
Col. 1:24-2:7
Matt. 4:1-11

Selected Verses
Ps. 47:8
God is king over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.

Exod. 20:1-3
Then God spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.

Col. 2:2-3
I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Matt. 4:11
Then the devil left [Jesus], and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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