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.

Set Our Mind on Your Spirit--March 23, 2014


Gracious God, you have life in yourself, and you
have granted your Son to have life in himself.

We confess our transgressions and acknowledge
our sin to you; for what can we say, how can
we clear ourselves?  You know our guilt.

Forgive us, we pray, and set our mind on
your Spirit, that we may find life and peace.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 84; 150; 42; 32
Gen. 44:1-17
Rom. 8:1-10
John 5:25-29

Selected Verses
Ps. 32:5
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,  
          and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
          and you forgave the guilt of my sin.  

Gen. 44:16
And Judah said, "What can we say to my lord?  What can we speak?  How can we clear ourselves?  God has found out the guilt of your servants…"

Rom. 8:6
To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

John 5:26
"…For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself…"  [Jesus to those who wanted to kill him because he called God his own Father]

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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