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.

Jesus, the Stronghold of Our Lives--July 23, 2015


God, you are our light and our salvation;
whom shall we fear?

We see what we cannot understand,
and we are afraid.

When we are full of fear, there is
no strength in us.

Through the grace of our Lord Jesus
we will be saved.

With him as the stronghold of our lives,
of whom shall we be afraid?

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 36; 147:12-20; 80; 27
1 Sam. 28:3-20
Acts 15:1-11
Mark 5:1-20

Selected Verses
Ps. 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
          whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
          of whom shall I be afraid?

1 Sam. 28:20
Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel; and there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.

Acts 15:11
"…On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as [the Gentile disciples] will.”  [Peter to the Jerusalem council]

Mark 5:15
[The city people] came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. 

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