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, in Your Presence, Fullness of Joy--Dec. 12, 2014


God, in your presence there is fullness of joy,
in your right hand pleasures forevermore,
for you have loved us, by your grace
have given us eternal comfort
and hope in Jesus our Lord.

Pray show us the path of life--
how to refuse the evil and choose the good;
how to live in humility, avoiding disputes
over who is greatest or most important.
Comfort and strengthen our hearts
 in every good work and word.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 102; 148; 130; 16
Isa. 7:10-25
2 Thess. 2:13-3:5
Luke 22:14-30

Selected Verses
Ps. 16:11
You show me the path of life.
          In your presence there is fullness of joy;
          in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Isa. 7:15
[The child] shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.

2 Thess. 2:16-17
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.

Luke 22:24
A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest.

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