Introduction: For hundreds of years many Christian traditions have read passages of scripture using a tool called a lectionary. During this ordinary season, our devotional team decided to resource you with selections from the Revised Common Lectionary.

Source: the Revised Common Lectionary Year A

(Note. If you desire to read these passages in a different version of the Bible, this link will provide all the readings for week 2 in ESV in Bible Gateway where you may also choose other versions of these passages.)

Jeremiah 28:5-9
28:5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD;

28:6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the LORD do so; may the LORD fulfill the words that you have prophesied, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the LORD, and all the exiles.

28:7 But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people.

28:8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms.

28:9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the LORD has truly sent the prophet.”

Application: I often associate “prophecy” with warnings of doom and destruction. As we went though the Book of Jeremiah earlier in the year, there were plenty of those kinds of messages that the prophet spoke. Here, Jeremiah turns toward a new theme, the theme of peace. Reflect on the promise of peace that God has secured through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the peace that God promises will be everlasting. How is your outlook changed by reflecting on this prophesied peace?

Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18
89:1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.

89:2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

89:3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David:

89:4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.'” Selah

89:15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your countenance;

89:16 they exult in your name all day long, and extol your righteousness.

89:17 For you are the glory of their strength; by your favor our horn is exalted.

89:18 For our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel.

Application: I have noticed that the way I express my gratitude to God comes back to me, shaping the gratitude I experience. There are many ways to be thankful–very expressively, with one’s whole heart, quietly and heartfelt, whispered into silence and stillness, or continually, bridging the gap between the everyday and God’s grace reflected throughout life. Think of the ways you express thankfulness, find nuances in the ways you approach God in thanks.