The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever - Daily Bible Readings July 30,2013

1^ST READING

 

A God of tenderness and compassion — what a beautiful description of the character of God. Let us spend some time with it throughout this day. Too often, we fail to stop and reflect on the meaning of our lives. Our lives will pass us by if we do not decide to give it meaning, which we can discover by reflecting on our experiences. Socrates realized this hundreds of years before Jesus — let us make sure we do not ignore this age-old wisdom.

 

Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5-9, 28

7 The tent, which was called the meeting tent, Moses used to pitch at some distance away, outside the camp. Anyone who wished to consult the Lord would go to this meeting tent outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise and stand at the entrance of their own tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 On seeing the column of cloud stand at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and worship at the   entrance of their own tents. 11 The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another. Moses would then return to the camp, but his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun, would not move out of the tent. 34: 5 Moses stood there with the Lord and proclaimed his name, “Lord.” 6 Thus the Lord passed before him and cried out, “The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity, 7 continuing his kindness for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but punishing children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for their fathers’ wickedness!” 8 Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship. 9 Then he said, “If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your own.” 28 So Moses stayed there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, without eating any food or drinking any water, and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

 

P S A L M

Psalm 103:6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13

R: The Lord is kind and merciful.

6 The Lord secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed.

7 He has made known his ways to Moses, and his deeds to the children of Israel. (R) 8 Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. 9 He will not always chide, nor does he keep his wrath forever. (R) 10 Not according to our sins does he deal with us, nor does he requite us according to our crimes. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him. (R) 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

We will never be finished with temptation until the day we die. This is the nature of Satan — he does not know when to give up and admit that he has been defeated. It is important that we know how to approach our lives in this regard because if we try to handle temptation through our own strength, we will ultimately fail. If we decide to be a disciple of Jesus, we will always have the grace and strength to overcome all sin and temptation.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever.

 

Matthew 13:36-43

36 Jesus dismissed the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, 38 the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

 

think:  We will never be finished with temptation until the day we die.

 

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: __________________

 

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God’s special verse/thought for me today_

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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Esther 8-F