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.

Plans for a Future with Hope--Oct. 18, 2015


Loving God, made known to us in Jesus,
you are our refuge and our strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Surely you know the plans
that you have for us--
plans for our welfare
and not for our harm,
plans to give us a future with
hope.  Teach us to welcome all whom
you have sent; open our hearts to listen to them.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 67; 150; 46; 93
Jer. 29:1, 4-14
Acts 16:6-15
Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Selected Verses
Ps. 46:1
 God is our refuge and strength,
          a very present help in trouble. 

Jer. 29:11
For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. [From Jeremiah's letter, sent from Jerusalem to the exiles in Babylon]

Acts 16:14b
The Lord opened [Lydia's] heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.

Luke 10:8-9
"Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ …"  [Jesus to the seventy disciples he sent out]
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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