Nancy Reagan’s Funeral Included Several Scripture Readings
Former first lady Nancy Reagan's funeral was held March 11, 2016. The program included readings from Proverbs 31:10-31, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and John 14:1-6. She was buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., next to her husband.
Proverbs 31:10-31 (NIV)
Read by Anne Peterson, Nancy Reagan's niece
Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character
10[a] A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NIV)
Read by Barton Hegeler, Nancy Reagan's nephew
Believers Who Have Died
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.
14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
John 14:1-6 (NIV)
Read by Diane Sawyer
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Friday, March 18, 2016
Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem
Today the church remembers Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, 386.
When famine hit the vicinity of Jerusalem, Cyril, the bishop, promptly sold some of the church's most prized possessions to relieve the poor and to obtain food for the starving. When the famine was over, some angry church members succeeded in having Cyril condemned at a public meeting as an irresponsible thief who had illegally disposed of church property. They temporarily drove him out of the city. Although Cyril was a gentle and conciliatory man, this event was typical of the bitter controversy that wracked his episcopate.
Scarcely had he regained his diocese before he was again expelled, this time by Arian heretics who had great power in Jerusalem. He was restored to the Jerusalem bishophric again by none other than the infamous Emperor Julian, the Apostate. Due to this rather coincidental fact, Cyril had difficulty regaining the confidence of the other orthodox bishops of the church. Furthermore, the Jerusalem Church had become notorious throughout the Christian world for its low moral standards. This situation Cyril attempted to correct, but his enemies blamed him for it.
Cyril's greatest talents seem to have been as a teacher and preacher. Very little of his thought was ever written down, but what we have is most impressive and timely even today.
Loving and forgiving God, give us strength to persevere in the faith. Amen.
Strengthen, O Lord, the bishops of your Church in their special calling to be teachers and ministers of the Sacraments, so that they, like your servant Cyril of Jerusalem, may effectively instruct your people in Christian faith and practice; and that we, taught by them, may enter more fully into the celebration of the Paschal mystery; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_of_Jerusalem
When famine hit the vicinity of Jerusalem, Cyril, the bishop, promptly sold some of the church's most prized possessions to relieve the poor and to obtain food for the starving. When the famine was over, some angry church members succeeded in having Cyril condemned at a public meeting as an irresponsible thief who had illegally disposed of church property. They temporarily drove him out of the city. Although Cyril was a gentle and conciliatory man, this event was typical of the bitter controversy that wracked his episcopate.
Scarcely had he regained his diocese before he was again expelled, this time by Arian heretics who had great power in Jerusalem. He was restored to the Jerusalem bishophric again by none other than the infamous Emperor Julian, the Apostate. Due to this rather coincidental fact, Cyril had difficulty regaining the confidence of the other orthodox bishops of the church. Furthermore, the Jerusalem Church had become notorious throughout the Christian world for its low moral standards. This situation Cyril attempted to correct, but his enemies blamed him for it.
Cyril's greatest talents seem to have been as a teacher and preacher. Very little of his thought was ever written down, but what we have is most impressive and timely even today.
Loving and forgiving God, give us strength to persevere in the faith. Amen.
Strengthen, O Lord, the bishops of your Church in their special calling to be teachers and ministers of the Sacraments, so that they, like your servant Cyril of Jerusalem, may effectively instruct your people in Christian faith and practice; and that we, taught by them, may enter more fully into the celebration of the Paschal mystery; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_of_Jerusalem
Daily Readings for March 18, 2016
Exodus 9:13-35
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. For this time I will send all my plagues upon you yourself, and upon your officials, and upon your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But this is why I have let you live: to show you my power, and to make my name resound through all the earth. You are still exalting yourself against my people, and will not let them go. Tomorrow at this time I will cause the heaviest hail to fall that has ever fallen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. Send, therefore, and have your livestock and everything that you have in the open field brought to a secure place; every human or animal that is in the open field and is not brought under shelter will die when the hail comes down upon them.'" Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried their slaves and livestock off to a secure place. Those who did not regard the word of the LORD left their slaves and livestock in the open field. The LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven so that hail may fall on the whole land of Egypt, on humans and animals and all the plants of the field in the land of Egypt." Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire came down on the earth. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt; there was hail with fire flashing continually in the midst of it, such heavy hail as had never fallen in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. The hail struck down everything that was in the open field throughout all the land of Egypt, both human and animal; the hail also struck down all the plants of the field, and shattered every tree in the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, there was no hail. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Pray to the LORD! Enough of God's thunder and hail! I will let you go; you need stay no longer." Moses said to him, "As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD's. But as for you and your officials, I know that you do not yet fear the LORD God." (Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they are late in coming up.) So Moses left Pharaoh, went out of the city, and stretched out his hands to the LORD; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured down on the earth. But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned once more and hardened his heart, he and his officials. So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.
2 Corinthians 4:1-12
Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God's word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Mark 10:32-45
They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again." James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." And he said to them, "What is it you want me to do for you?" And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They replied, "We are able." Then Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
Psalm 22 Deus, Deus meu (God, meu)
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? and are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress?
2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; by night as well, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are the Holy One, enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
4 Our forefathers put their trust in you; they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 They cried out to you and were delivered; they trusted in you and were not put to shame.
6 But as for me, I am a worm and no man, scorned by all and despised by the people.
7 All who see me laugh me to scorn; they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,
8 He trusted in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, if he delights in him.
9 Yet you are he who took me out of the womb, and kept me safe upon my mother's breast.
10 I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; you were my God when I was still in my mother's womb.
11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
12 Many young bulls encircle me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me.
13 They open wide their jaws at me, like a ravening and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint; my heart within my breast is melting wax.
15 My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; and you have laid me in the dust of the grave.
16 Packs of dogs close me in, and gangs of evildoers circle around me; they pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones.
17 They stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing.
18 Be not far away, O LORD; you are my strength; hasten to help me.
19 Save me from the sword, my life from the power of the dog.
20 Save me from the lion's mouth, my wretched body from the horns of wild bulls.
21 I will declare your Name to my brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.
22 Praise the LORD, you that fear him; stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory.
23 For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; but when they cry to him he hears them.
24 My praise is of him in the great assembly; I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.
25 The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the LORD shall praise him: "May your heart live for ever!"
26 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations bow before him.
27 For kingship belongs to the LORD; he rules over the nations.
28 To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; all who go down to the dust fall before him.
29 My soul shall live for him; my descendants shall serve him; they shall be known as the LORD'S for ever.
30 They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn the saving deeds that he has done.
Psalm 141 Domine, clamavi (I have cried)
1 O LORD, I call to you; come to me quickly; hear my voice when I cry to you.
2 Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a watch before my mouth, O LORD, and guard the door of my lips; let not my heart incline to any evil thing.
4 Let me not be occupied in wickedness with evildoers, nor eat of their choice foods.
5 Let the righteous smite me in friendly rebuke; let not the oil of the unrighteous anoint my head; for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
6 Let their rulers be overthrown in stony places, that they may know my words are true.
7 As when a plowman turns over the earth in furrows, let their bones be scattered at the mouth of the grave.
8 But my eyes are turned to you, Lord GOD; in you I take refuge; do not strip me of my life.
9 Protect me from the snare which they have laid for me and from the traps of the evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I myself escape.
Psalm 143 Domine, exaudi (Lord, hear)
1 LORD, hear my prayer, and in your faithfulness heed my supplications; answer me in your righteousness.
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, for in your sight shall no one living be justified.
3 For my enemy has sought my life; he has crushed me to the ground; he has made me live in dark places like those who are long dead.
4 My spirit faints within me; my heart within me is desolate.
5 I remember the time past; I muse upon all your deeds; I consider the works of your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to you; my soul gasps to you like a thirsty land.
7 O LORD, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me; do not hide your face from me or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
8 Let me hear of your loving-kindness in the morning, for I put my trust in you; show me the road that I must walk, for I lift up my soul to you.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD, for I flee to you for refuge.
10 Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God; let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
11 Revive me, O LORD, for your Name's sake; for your righteousness' sake, bring me out of trouble.
12 Of your goodness, destroy my enemies and bring all my foes to naught, for truly I am your servant.
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. For this time I will send all my plagues upon you yourself, and upon your officials, and upon your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But this is why I have let you live: to show you my power, and to make my name resound through all the earth. You are still exalting yourself against my people, and will not let them go. Tomorrow at this time I will cause the heaviest hail to fall that has ever fallen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. Send, therefore, and have your livestock and everything that you have in the open field brought to a secure place; every human or animal that is in the open field and is not brought under shelter will die when the hail comes down upon them.'" Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried their slaves and livestock off to a secure place. Those who did not regard the word of the LORD left their slaves and livestock in the open field. The LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven so that hail may fall on the whole land of Egypt, on humans and animals and all the plants of the field in the land of Egypt." Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire came down on the earth. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt; there was hail with fire flashing continually in the midst of it, such heavy hail as had never fallen in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. The hail struck down everything that was in the open field throughout all the land of Egypt, both human and animal; the hail also struck down all the plants of the field, and shattered every tree in the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, there was no hail. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Pray to the LORD! Enough of God's thunder and hail! I will let you go; you need stay no longer." Moses said to him, "As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD's. But as for you and your officials, I know that you do not yet fear the LORD God." (Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they are late in coming up.) So Moses left Pharaoh, went out of the city, and stretched out his hands to the LORD; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured down on the earth. But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned once more and hardened his heart, he and his officials. So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.
2 Corinthians 4:1-12
Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God's word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Mark 10:32-45
They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again." James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." And he said to them, "What is it you want me to do for you?" And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They replied, "We are able." Then Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
Psalm 22 Deus, Deus meu (God, meu)
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? and are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress?
2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; by night as well, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are the Holy One, enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
4 Our forefathers put their trust in you; they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 They cried out to you and were delivered; they trusted in you and were not put to shame.
6 But as for me, I am a worm and no man, scorned by all and despised by the people.
7 All who see me laugh me to scorn; they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,
8 He trusted in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, if he delights in him.
9 Yet you are he who took me out of the womb, and kept me safe upon my mother's breast.
10 I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; you were my God when I was still in my mother's womb.
11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
12 Many young bulls encircle me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me.
13 They open wide their jaws at me, like a ravening and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint; my heart within my breast is melting wax.
15 My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; and you have laid me in the dust of the grave.
16 Packs of dogs close me in, and gangs of evildoers circle around me; they pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones.
17 They stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing.
18 Be not far away, O LORD; you are my strength; hasten to help me.
19 Save me from the sword, my life from the power of the dog.
20 Save me from the lion's mouth, my wretched body from the horns of wild bulls.
21 I will declare your Name to my brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.
22 Praise the LORD, you that fear him; stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory.
23 For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; but when they cry to him he hears them.
24 My praise is of him in the great assembly; I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.
25 The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the LORD shall praise him: "May your heart live for ever!"
26 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations bow before him.
27 For kingship belongs to the LORD; he rules over the nations.
28 To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; all who go down to the dust fall before him.
29 My soul shall live for him; my descendants shall serve him; they shall be known as the LORD'S for ever.
30 They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn the saving deeds that he has done.
Psalm 141 Domine, clamavi (I have cried)
1 O LORD, I call to you; come to me quickly; hear my voice when I cry to you.
2 Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a watch before my mouth, O LORD, and guard the door of my lips; let not my heart incline to any evil thing.
4 Let me not be occupied in wickedness with evildoers, nor eat of their choice foods.
5 Let the righteous smite me in friendly rebuke; let not the oil of the unrighteous anoint my head; for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
6 Let their rulers be overthrown in stony places, that they may know my words are true.
7 As when a plowman turns over the earth in furrows, let their bones be scattered at the mouth of the grave.
8 But my eyes are turned to you, Lord GOD; in you I take refuge; do not strip me of my life.
9 Protect me from the snare which they have laid for me and from the traps of the evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I myself escape.
Psalm 143 Domine, exaudi (Lord, hear)
1 LORD, hear my prayer, and in your faithfulness heed my supplications; answer me in your righteousness.
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, for in your sight shall no one living be justified.
3 For my enemy has sought my life; he has crushed me to the ground; he has made me live in dark places like those who are long dead.
4 My spirit faints within me; my heart within me is desolate.
5 I remember the time past; I muse upon all your deeds; I consider the works of your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to you; my soul gasps to you like a thirsty land.
7 O LORD, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me; do not hide your face from me or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
8 Let me hear of your loving-kindness in the morning, for I put my trust in you; show me the road that I must walk, for I lift up my soul to you.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD, for I flee to you for refuge.
10 Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God; let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
11 Revive me, O LORD, for your Name's sake; for your righteousness' sake, bring me out of trouble.
12 Of your goodness, destroy my enemies and bring all my foes to naught, for truly I am your servant.
Daily Meditation for March 18, 2016
From Forward Day by Day
Mark 10:43-44 Jesus said, “But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.”
I learned something about Christian leadership one summer when I was in college. Working at a low-level job for an organ builder, my task was to wash and clean thousands of pipes in a massive pipe organ. All those pipes had to be brought down several stories to the workroom to be cleaned.
One day, a large crew, including the president of the company, showed up to move several thousand pipes in one day. The president arrived and said, “Tell us what to do; we’re at your service.” I tried to suggest that he should give the orders. “You’ve been here a few days, and you know the lay of the land.” He and the rest did things as I suggested. I learned from this faithful man that being in charge sometimes means taking the low position, and sometimes that means having the least likely person become the leader. I wonder how many times in my life I have missed rich opportunities because I tried to lead instead of becoming the servant.
Mark 10:43-44 Jesus said, “But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.”
I learned something about Christian leadership one summer when I was in college. Working at a low-level job for an organ builder, my task was to wash and clean thousands of pipes in a massive pipe organ. All those pipes had to be brought down several stories to the workroom to be cleaned.
One day, a large crew, including the president of the company, showed up to move several thousand pipes in one day. The president arrived and said, “Tell us what to do; we’re at your service.” I tried to suggest that he should give the orders. “You’ve been here a few days, and you know the lay of the land.” He and the rest did things as I suggested. I learned from this faithful man that being in charge sometimes means taking the low position, and sometimes that means having the least likely person become the leader. I wonder how many times in my life I have missed rich opportunities because I tried to lead instead of becoming the servant.
Men of the Bible - Joshua
Meet the greatest heroes and villains of the Bible in this weekly devotional written specifically for men.
Joshua
His name means: "Yahweh Is Salvation"
His work: He was Moses' aide and successor, a military commander and statesman.
His character: His remarkable military successes were achieved as a result of his attitude of trust and obedience toward the God who made them all possible.
His sorrow: That the Israelites failed to believe his good report of the Promised Land and that he and they were consequently prevented from entering it for forty years.
His triumph: To have led the Israelites to victory in Canaan, thus establishing them in the land God had promised their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Key Scriptures: Numbers 14:1-38; Joshua 1-6
A Look at the Man
When God calls someone to play a part in the history of his people, he often begins by testing his or her faith. Joshua's first test was to return a faithful report after he had spied out the land of Canaan with its giants and strong cities. Later God told him to cross the Jordan despite the fact that the river was at flood stage.
But the challenges didn't stop. To enter Canaan, the Israelites would have to take the city of Jericho, which lay five miles west of the Jordan River. But there was one little problem. High-walled, well-fortified cities had discouraged Israel's spies forty years earlier, and Joshua knew that their desert wanderings had not rendered the former slaves any more physically capable of laying siege to the city than they had been.
But Joshua believed that God had already delivered Jericho into their hands. They had merely to march around it for six days. On the seventh day, seven priests carrying trumpets of rams' horns would lead the army seven more times around the city. When the priests blew the last blast of the trumpet, all the people were to shout at the top of their lungs and the walls of the city would simply collapse. To practical-minded people—to most of us—this would have seemed a ridiculous plan. But it was the strategy Joshua employed, bringing about a victory that terrorized the other peoples of Canaan, thus paving the way for Israel's future military successes.
As each test grew larger, Joshua's faith kept pace, his obedience nourishing his faith and his faith nourishing his obedience. The man who had witnessed Israel's deliverance from Egypt, who had walked across the Red Sea, and who had stayed alive by eating manna in the desert was not about to doubt God's power to do what he said he would. Because of Joshua's faithfulness, the Israelites experienced victory after victory as they swept across the land and made it their own.
Reflect On: Deuteronomy 31:1–8 [Joshua to Succeed Moses] Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’ The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said. And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Praise God: For his power to do what he says he will.
Offer Thanks: For the victories God has won in your own life.
Confess: Any tendency to focus on your difficulties rather than on the God who promises to help you.
Ask God: To strengthen your faith by helping you take the risks he is asking of you.
Today's reading is a brief excerpt from Men of the Bible: A One-Year Devotional Study of Men in Scripture by Ann Spangler and Robert Wolgemuth (Zondervan). © 2010 by Ann Spangler. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Joshua
His name means: "Yahweh Is Salvation"
His work: He was Moses' aide and successor, a military commander and statesman.
His character: His remarkable military successes were achieved as a result of his attitude of trust and obedience toward the God who made them all possible.
His sorrow: That the Israelites failed to believe his good report of the Promised Land and that he and they were consequently prevented from entering it for forty years.
His triumph: To have led the Israelites to victory in Canaan, thus establishing them in the land God had promised their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Key Scriptures: Numbers 14:1-38; Joshua 1-6
A Look at the Man
When God calls someone to play a part in the history of his people, he often begins by testing his or her faith. Joshua's first test was to return a faithful report after he had spied out the land of Canaan with its giants and strong cities. Later God told him to cross the Jordan despite the fact that the river was at flood stage.
But the challenges didn't stop. To enter Canaan, the Israelites would have to take the city of Jericho, which lay five miles west of the Jordan River. But there was one little problem. High-walled, well-fortified cities had discouraged Israel's spies forty years earlier, and Joshua knew that their desert wanderings had not rendered the former slaves any more physically capable of laying siege to the city than they had been.
But Joshua believed that God had already delivered Jericho into their hands. They had merely to march around it for six days. On the seventh day, seven priests carrying trumpets of rams' horns would lead the army seven more times around the city. When the priests blew the last blast of the trumpet, all the people were to shout at the top of their lungs and the walls of the city would simply collapse. To practical-minded people—to most of us—this would have seemed a ridiculous plan. But it was the strategy Joshua employed, bringing about a victory that terrorized the other peoples of Canaan, thus paving the way for Israel's future military successes.
As each test grew larger, Joshua's faith kept pace, his obedience nourishing his faith and his faith nourishing his obedience. The man who had witnessed Israel's deliverance from Egypt, who had walked across the Red Sea, and who had stayed alive by eating manna in the desert was not about to doubt God's power to do what he said he would. Because of Joshua's faithfulness, the Israelites experienced victory after victory as they swept across the land and made it their own.
Reflect On: Deuteronomy 31:1–8 [Joshua to Succeed Moses] Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’ The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said. And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Praise God: For his power to do what he says he will.
Offer Thanks: For the victories God has won in your own life.
Confess: Any tendency to focus on your difficulties rather than on the God who promises to help you.
Ask God: To strengthen your faith by helping you take the risks he is asking of you.
Today's reading is a brief excerpt from Men of the Bible: A One-Year Devotional Study of Men in Scripture by Ann Spangler and Robert Wolgemuth (Zondervan). © 2010 by Ann Spangler. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
His Princess Every Day - Friday, March 18, 2016
Devotionals for Women - Inspirational author and speaker Sheri Rose
Shepherd imagines what a letter written from God to you would look like.
My Much-loved Daughter,
I know how hard it is to respond in a way that will glorify Me when you’re hurting and feeling helpless. In such moments, you need only to call out to Me. I will calm your heart so you can control your reactions to the trials this life brings. I will never turn away from you, no matter how you act or react. Remember, too, that there is nothing you have done or said that I cannot redeem if you will come to Me and repent of your words and actions. I am your faithful Father, and it is My pleasure to turn your wrongs to right for My glory. Let Me guide you when you don’t know how to react. I will give you wisdom and a way to escape from the temptation to lash out. Because you are Mine, you simply need to ask, and I will show you the way that will lead to reconciliation and revival.
Love,
Your Redeemer
Choose my instruction rather than silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold. - Proverbs 8:10
Treasure of Truth
How we choose to react will ultimately determine the outcome of our lives.
This devotional is written by Sheri Rose Shepherd. All content copyright Sheri Rose Shepherd 2015. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
His Response
My Much-loved Daughter,
I know how hard it is to respond in a way that will glorify Me when you’re hurting and feeling helpless. In such moments, you need only to call out to Me. I will calm your heart so you can control your reactions to the trials this life brings. I will never turn away from you, no matter how you act or react. Remember, too, that there is nothing you have done or said that I cannot redeem if you will come to Me and repent of your words and actions. I am your faithful Father, and it is My pleasure to turn your wrongs to right for My glory. Let Me guide you when you don’t know how to react. I will give you wisdom and a way to escape from the temptation to lash out. Because you are Mine, you simply need to ask, and I will show you the way that will lead to reconciliation and revival.
Love,
Your Redeemer
Choose my instruction rather than silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold. - Proverbs 8:10
Treasure of Truth
How we choose to react will ultimately determine the outcome of our lives.
This devotional is written by Sheri Rose Shepherd. All content copyright Sheri Rose Shepherd 2015. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Verse of the Day - March 18, 2016
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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