Monday, July 10, 2023

The Daily Lectionary for Tuesday, July 11, 2023

 

The Daily Lectionary
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
Psalm 131; Genesis 29:1-14; Romans 3:1-8
(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)
  (Semi-continuous Reading Plan)

A Psalm and A Prayer
Responsive Readings from the Psalms and Prayers
for Public Worship and Private Devotions
Psalm 131
I rest like a weaned child on God
Domine, non est

O LORD, I am not proud; *
  I have no haughty looks.


I do not occupy myself with great matters, *
  or with things that are too hard for me.


But I still my soul and make it quiet,
    like a child upon its mother’s breast; *
  my soul is quieted within me.


O Israel, wait upon the LORD, *
  from this time forth for evermore.


Heavenly Father, We humbly and joyfully bow before You with submissive hearts and minds. Help us to understand Your Word, the Holy Scriptures. Help us to recognize what we can and cannot understand as we study Your Word of Truth. Help us not to fret over truths beyond our understanding; truths that we cannot comprehend as long as we live in this world. Help us trust in You, Your love, and Your tender mercies. Clothe us with righteousness and salvation. Father, thank You for sending Your Son into the world as You promised King David and throughout the Scriptures. We pray through Jesus Christ, Who taught us to pray,
“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.”
Genesis 29:1-14
Jacob meets Rachel

Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. There he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well’s mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.

Jacob asked the shepherds, “My brothers, where are you from?”

“We’re from Harran,” they replied.

He said to them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?”

“Yes, we know him,” they answered.

Then Jacob asked them, “Is he well?”

“Yes, he is,” they said, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.”

“Look,” he said, “the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.”

“We can’t,” they replied, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.”

While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherd. When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father.

As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things. Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”

After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month.

Romans 3:1-8
The faithfulness of God

What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.

What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written:
“So that you may be proved right when you speak
    and prevail when you judge.”
But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!

Optional parts of the readings are set off in [square brackets.]

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel lessons are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Responsive Readings from the Common Book of Prayer (1789).

The Daily Lectionary is a three year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year A. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2023, we will be in Year B. The year which ended at Advent 2022 was Year A. These readings complement the Sunday and festival readings: Thursday through Saturday readings help prepare the reader for the Sunday ahead; Monday through Wednesday readings help the reader reflect and digest on what they heard in worship. Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org
The Daily Lectionary for Tuesday, July 11, 2023
Psalm 131; Genesis 29:1-14; Romans 3:1-8

The Morning Prayer for Tuesday, July 11, 2023

 

The Morning Prayer
Tuesday, July 11, 2023


So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been purified from a guilty conscience and with bodies washed with clean water.

Lord our God, grant us true unity with your Son Jesus Christ, so that his power can be revealed in us and we may find new life in which we can truly serve you. Protect us from all error. Be among us with your Spirit to make us people who are genuine. Let your will be carried out more and more in this age. Let your will again intervene so that a new creation may come, a new heaven and a new earth, as we have been promised. May your name be great among us, may your kingdom come and everything in heaven and on earth be done according to your will. Amen.

Verse of the Day for Tuesday, July 11, 2023

 

Verse of the Day
Tuesday, July 11, 2023


Jeremiah 32:17
Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
Although Jeremiah knew God is sovereign, he questioned why the Lord had him buy a field as the Chaldeans (Babylonians) were attacking (Jer. 32:25). How like us! We agree that God can do whatever He pleases, but we still question what He calls us to do. However, the Lord does not require us to understand His will, just obey it, even if it seems unreasonable. He had Jeremiah buy the field to show that He would faithfully bring His people back to the Promised Land (Jer. 32:37–44). He has a purpose for what He commands us to do as well. Remember, nothing is too hard for God—so submit to Him and watch Him work on your behalf.

Read all of Jeremiah Chapter 32

Listen to Jeremiah Chapter 32

Scripture from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.