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.

We Do Not Lose Heart, O God of the Living--April 7, 2018


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Though aimlessly we wander in the land,
and though our outer nature
is wasting away,
our inner nature is renewed;
the wilderness has not closed in on us.
You are God of the living, not of the dead;
you take pleasure in your people,
so we do not lose heart.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 92; 149; 23; 114
Exod. 13:17-14:4
2 Cor. 4:16-5:10
Mark 12:18-27

Selected Verses
Ps. 149:4
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
          he adorns the humble with victory. 

Exod. 14:3
Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, "They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has closed in on them."  [The LORD to Moses]

2 Cor. 4:16
So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 

Mark 12:27
He is God not of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong."  [Jesus to the Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection]

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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