When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Matthew 10:19-20 (NRSVUE)

Maybe you knew, maybe you didn’t: there is a reading for the day–every day!

You can access the daily lectionary through Vanderbilt Lectionary here. Just scroll to today’s date to find the readings, and then choose Semi-continuous or Complementary. What’s the difference, you ask? Well, the semi-continuous passages basically allow you to read through much of the Old Testament, book by book. The complementary readings are chosen a different way. Instead of marching through the Old Testament, the complementary passages are chosen to complement whatever the New Testament reading was for that day.

Take today, July 2nd, for example, and let’s use the complementary track.

You can click this link to see the readings. The gospel is part of the story in Matthew where Jesus is sending the disciples out to evangelize while warming them of the dangers ahead. The two Old Testament readings are Psalm 140 and Jeremiah 23. The former is a psalm about salvation and the latter is the story of the widow saved by collecting oil to pay off her debts and find security.

Sometimes it’s easy to see how the readings fit together, others…less so. But the process of reading scripture daily, even just a few times a week, can be inspiring and enlightening.