Daily Readings for March 4, 2016

Genesis 47:1-26
So Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; they are now in the land of Goshen." From among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, as our ancestors were." They said to Pharaoh, "We have come to reside as aliens in the land; for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, we ask you, let your servants settle in the land of Goshen." Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land; let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know that there are capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock." Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob, and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many are the years of your life?" Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my earthly sojourn are one hundred thirty; few and hard have been the years of my life. They do not compare with the years of the life of my ancestors during their long sojourn." Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and granted them a holding in the land of Egypt, in the best part of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had instructed. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their dependents. Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. When the money from the land of Egypt and from the land of Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, "Give us food! Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone." And Joseph answered, "Give me your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone." So they brought their livestock to Joseph; and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. That year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock. When that year was ended, they came to him the following year, and said to him, "We can not hide from my lord that our money is all spent; and the herds of cattle are my lord's. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. Shall we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. We with our land will become slaves to Pharaoh; just give us seed, so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate." So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe upon them; and the land became Pharaoh's. As for the people, he made slaves of them from one end of Egypt to the other. Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh, and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land. Then Joseph said to the people, "Now that I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you; sow the land. And at the harvests you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones." They said, "You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be slaves to Pharaoh." So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. The land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's.

1 Corinthians 9:16-27
If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel. For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.

Mark 6:47-56
When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea. He intended to pass them by. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

Psalm 88 Domine, Deus (O Lord,)
1   O LORD, my God, my Savior, by day and night I cry to you.
2   Let my prayer enter into your presence; incline your ear to my lamentation.
3   For I am full of trouble; my life is at the brink of the grave.
4   I am counted among those who go down to the Pit; I have become like one who has no strength;
5   Lost among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave,
6   Whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand.
7   You have laid me in the depths of the Pit, in dark places, and in the abyss.
8   Your anger weighs upon me heavily, and all your great waves overwhelm me.
9   You have put my friends far from me; you have made me to be abhorred by them; I am in prison and cannot get free.
10   My sight has failed me because of trouble; LORD, I have called upon you daily; I have stretched out my hands to you.
11   Do you work wonders for the dead? will those who have died stand up and give you thanks?
12   Will your loving-kindness be declared in the grave? your faithfulness in the land of destruction?
13   Will your wonders be known in the dark? or your righteousness in the country where all is forgotten?
14   But as for me, O LORD, I cry to you for help; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
15   LORD, why have you rejected me? why have you hidden your face from me?
16   Ever since my youth, I have been wretched and at the point of death; I have borne your terrors with a troubled mind.
17   Your blazing anger has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me;
18   They surround me all day long like a flood; they encompass me on every side.
19   My friend and my neighbor you have put away from me, and darkness is my only companion.

Psalm 91 Qui habitat (He that dwelleth)
1   He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, abides under the shadow of the Almighty.
2   He shall say to the LORD, "You are my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I put my trust."
3   He shall deliver you from the snare of the hunter and from the deadly pestilence.
4   He shall cover you with his pinions, and you shall find refuge under his wings; his faithfulness shall be a shield and buckler.
5   You shall not be afraid of any terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day;
6   Of the plague that stalks in the darkness, nor of the sickness that lays waste at mid-day.
7   A thousand shall fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.
8   Your eyes have only to behold to see the reward of the wicked.
9   Because you have made the LORD your refuge, and the Most High your habitation,
10   There shall no evil happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
11   For he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.
12   They shall bear you in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13   You shall tread upon the lion and the adder; you shall trample the young lion and the serpent under your feet.
14   Because he is bound to me in love, therefore will I deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my Name.
15   He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I am with him in trouble; I will rescue him and bring him to honor.
16   With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

Psalm 92 Bonum est confiteri (Good to give)
1   It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to your Name, O Most High;
2   To tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning and of your faithfulness in the night season;
3   On the psaltery, and on the lyre, and to the melody of the harp.
4   For you have made me glad by your acts, O LORD; and I shout for joy because of the works of your hands.
5   LORD, how great are your works! your thoughts are very deep.
6   The dullard does not know, nor does the fool understand, that though the wicked grow like weeds, and all the workers of iniquity flourish,
7   They flourish only to be destroyed for ever; but you, O LORD, are exalted for evermore.
8   For lo, your enemies, O LORD, lo, your enemies shall perish, and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
9   But my horn you have exalted like the horns of wild bulls; I am anointed with fresh oil.
10   My eyes also gloat over my enemies, and my ears rejoice to hear the doom of the wicked who rise up against me.
11   The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, and shall spread abroad like a cedar of Lebanon.
12   Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God;
13   They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be green and succulent;
14   That they may show how upright the LORD is, my Rock, in whom there is no fault.

Daily Meditation for March 4, 2016

From Forward Day by Day

1 Corinthians 9:22 I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.

People look for all kinds of answers on Google. What shoes should I buy? Where is a good place for a family vacation? It should not surprise us that religious queries are very popular. Does prayer work? Does God exist? Will I be welcome in the church? Or even more local: help me find a church.

A surprising number of churches don’t have a website. In today’s world, a church without a website doesn’t exist for many people. Considering that websites are free, a church without a website has decided that it doesn’t want to reach a massive number of people, many of whom are desperate for a word of hope. Saint Paul commends us to be all things to all people, to find ways to share the Good News in languages that people can hear. It doesn’t mean anything goes. It means knowing our audience and communicating with them. Today that means reaching people online. Does your church exist for people Googling for good news?