The Daily Readings for THURSDAY, January 18, 2018 - The Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle

Peter’s Declaration about Jesus
Matthew 16:13-19

Daily Readings

The Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle

Opening Sentence

Their sound has gone out into all lands, and their message to the ends of the world.

~ Psalm 19:4

Prayer of the Day (Collect)

Almighty Father, who inspired Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the living God: Keep your Church steadfast upon the rock of this faith, so that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Confession and Forgiveness

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

God is light; in him there in no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and son not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

~ John 1:5b-8

Most holy and merciful Father, We confess to you and to one another, that we have sinned against you by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not fully loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not always had in us the mind of Christ. You alone know how often we have grieved you by wasting your gifts, by wandering from your ways. Forgive us, we pray you, most merciful Father; And free us from our sin. Renew in us the grace and strength of your Holy Spirit, for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen

The Lessons

First Lesson: Acts 4:8-13

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is 'the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.' There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved." Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus.

Psalm: Psalm 23 Dominus regit me

1   The LORD is my shepherd;

I shall not be in want.

2   He makes me lie down in green pastures

and leads me beside still waters.

3   He revives my soul

and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.

4   Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil;

for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5   You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me;

you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over.

6   Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Second Lesson: 1 Peter 5:1-4

Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it-- not for sordid gain but eagerly. Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away.

Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Here ends the Lessons

The Apostle's Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

Closing Prayer

And now, as a little child, let me abide in you all this day, oh Christ, so that when you appear I may have confidence and not shrink from you in shame at your coming. For I know that you are righteous, and I am sure that I will be made righteous only by my life in you. Amen

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

~ Numbers 6:22-27

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia!

Thanks be to God! Alleluia!

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The New Revised Standard Version Bible may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible or account for fifty percent (50%) of the total work in which they are quoted. The Collects, Psalms and Canticles are from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.

The Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle

Stained glass window of the
Confession of Peter in Luke 9:20

The Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle

Today the church remembers The Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle.

The confession of the disciple Simon Peter, "you are the Christ, the Son of the living God," is a milestone in the Lord's ministry, in the founding of the church, and in the history of humankind. On Peter's confession of faith lay the foundation of a new world order.

Peter was a simple fisherman of Galilee, rough and impetuous. Andrew, his brother, called him to follow Jesus. He soon grew very close and dear to the Lord and was one of the inner circle of Jesus' companions. He was quick tempered and impulsive, given to bursts of enthusiasm and lulls of depression. At the Last Supper he swore he would die rather than forsake Jesus, but before daybreak denied him three times.

Following the Resurrection, Peter emerged as leader of the more conservative disciples, strenuously opposing the baptism of Gentiles. However, after a very dramatic dream, he had a real change of heart.

Peter eventually went to Rome where, with Paul, he founded the mother church of Western Europe. There, during the Neronian persecutions, he was crucified with his head down. The peculiar position was at his own request, for he did not feel worthy to suffer in the same manner as his Lord.

Almighty Father, who inspired Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as the Messiah and Son of the living God: Keep your church steadfast upon the rock of this faith. Amen.

Read the Wikipedia article here.

Almighty Father, who inspired Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the living God: Keep your Church steadfast upon the rock of this faith, so that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Prayer of the Day for THURSDAY, January 18, 2018 - The Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

~ Psalm 23:1-6

Verse of the Day for THURSDAY, January 18, 2018

Psalm 23:4 (NIV) Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Read all of Psalm 23

Listen to Psalm 23

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Morning Devotions with Cap'n Kenny - Through the Valley

Through the Valley

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

~ Psalm 23:4 (NIV)

Have you ever gone through a spiritual valley in your life? Perhaps it was a time when unexpected circumstances suddenly came crashing down on you. Perhaps it was a time when it seemed as though even God himself had abandoned you.

In Psalm 23, David speaks of how God is with us, even when we go through valleys in our lives: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (verse 4).

David was no stranger to calamity and hardship. This was a man who knew what it was like to suffer. He knew what it was like to face difficulties. He had been hunted like a wild animal by the paranoid King Saul, even after being anointed as the next king of Israel by the prophet Samuel.

When David brings us this and other psalms, which he penned under the direction of the Holy Spirit, he candidly speaks of his own shortcomings, weaknesses, and questions he faced in life. Psalm 23 came from the school of hard knocks, from a man who knew what it was like to need God’s help.

But we might say, “A valley? I don’t like valleys, Lord. I prefer mountaintops, okay? I like the sun to be shining and the birds singing. I like good times. I don’t want friction. I don’t want hardship.”

Yet the Lord is saying, “You see that mountaintop in the distance? The way to that mountaintop is through this valley. You come with Me now through the valley.”

We all go through those valleys in life, those hard times. Whatever valley it is, remember this: You are not alone. That is God’s great promise to the believer.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

~ Psalm 23:1-6

In Jesus,
Cap'n Kenny


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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Words of hope from someone intimately acquainted with hardship.

Un Dia a la Vez - Deja el pasado y mira el futuro

Deja el pasado y mira el futuro

Olvidando lo que queda atrás y esforzándome por alcanzar lo que está delante, sigo avanzando hacia la meta para ganar el premio que Dios ofrece mediante su llamamiento celestial en Cristo Jesús.

~ Filipenses 3:13-14 (NVI)

Estamos comenzando un nuevo año y es tiempo de dejar atrás nuestros errores. Es tiempo de comenzar con nuevas actitudes. Dios te quiere feliz y desea que puedas alcanzar tus metas en este nuevo año. No se trata solo de dejar de fumar, comenzar una nueva dieta, ni iniciar una temporada en el gimnasio. Nuestras metas deben ir más allá de esto, aunque todo lo que mencioné antes es clave para un cambio. Esas propuestas para este año deben ir acordes a lo que Dios espera de nosotros.

He experimentado en mi andar con Cristo que lo mejor en la vida es hacer la voluntad de Dios. La obediencia trae bendición. Es una fórmula que no falla.

Cuando hacemos la voluntad de Dios, vemos que todo sale bien. Vemos un respaldo en cada plan que desarrollamos. Las puertas se abren y nos sorprendemos porque sabemos que Él va delante. Y algo muy especial… sentimos paz.

Si para este nuevo año aún no tienes metas o sigues pegado a las cosas del pasado que te restan felicidad, pídele en oración a Dios que te muestre su plan perfecto para ti. Y dile: «Señor, quiero hacer tu voluntad y no la mía. Ayúdame a comenzar una nueva vida. Amén y amén.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón

Standing Strong Through the Storm - SATAN’S TACTICS

SATAN’S TACTICS

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

~ James 4:7 (NIV)

Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil angels, he said, “We can’t keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can’t even keep them from family values. But we can do something else. We can keep them from forming an intimate, abiding experience in Christ.

“If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to church, let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time so they can't gain that experience in Jesus Christ.

“This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day.”

“How shall we do this?” shouted the evil angels.

“Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent unnumbered schemes to occupy their minds,” he answered.

“Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, then borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work and the husbands to work six or seven days a week, ten to twelve hours a day, so they can afford their lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work.

“Overstimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to keep the TV, the DVD, and their CD’s going constantly in their homes. Tempt them to spend more time on their computers, especially watching internet pornography.

“Fill their coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news twenty-four-hours-a-day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, sweepstakes, mail order catalogues, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering, free products, services and false hopes.

“When they meet for fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions. Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Christ. Soon they will be working in their own strength.”

RESPONSE: Today I will live in awareness of Satan’s subtle tactics to keep me from victory. I will stand against him and he will flee.

PRAYER: Lord, help me remain close to You today and not allow the “things” and “busyness” of life to crowd You out.

NIV Devotions for Men - Life’s “Do-Overs”

Life’s “Do-Overs”

Joel 2:12–27
Recommended Reading: Psalm 32:1–11; Ezekiel 33:10–16; Acts 2:37–39

To kids on a playground, the concept of a “do-over” is well known. When they’re playing kickball and the ball gets stuck in a tree, or when they’re playing basketball and the ball sticks between the backboard and the rim, a chorus of “do over” spontaneously erupts. It’s an unspoken rule that every kid knows.

Sometimes as adults we wish we could resurrect the rule in our own lives. When we miss a bill payment, we long to be able to appeal to the utility company for a “do-over.” When we speak a thoughtless word that hurts another person, we wish for the same.

Through the prophet Joel God tells the Israelites they can have a “do-over.” If they’ll repent God will return what he has taken away in punishment. Apparently a plague of locusts has destroyed the nation’s crops, and God promises to give the people abundant harvests once again.

So how can we make the reality of the “do-over” active in our life once again? Truth be told, this concept usually doesn’t work in our adult lives and relationships without a good deal of work and humility on our part. We bear the consequences of our mistakes until regret grows and we ask for forgiveness. That’s when grace can intervene, and the person we’ve harmed can forgive. The same is true in our relationship with God. If we understand that sin has kept us from realizing our potential, we need to do the same as the Israelites: repent. In this case, we don’t really achieve the “do-over” ourselves; instead, we receive it from God. We simply turn to God with our confession.

Many men find confession especially difficult because it cuts at our dignity and self-worth. When we confess we admit our mistakes and failures. We assume that these admissions don’t make us look very good. However, God loves to see us confess and repent of our sin, because in doing so we show that we desire to turn to him. When we’re “man enough” to confess our wrongs, God can choose to pour out his blessings for the next phase of our lives.

To Take Away

• What areas of your life feel so damaged by sin that they require a fresh start?
• What do you hope your life will amount to? How does that mesh with God’s plan for your life?
• Do you trust God enough to confess your mistakes and failures to him? Why or why not? How can you gain this kind of trust in God?

Girlfriends in God - Experiencing God’s Strength in Your Struggle

Experiencing God’s Strength in Your Struggle

Gwen Smith

Today’s Truth

I love you, O LORD, my strength.

~ Psalm 18:1 (ESV)

Friend to Friend

I will never forget how the movie The Wizard of Oz lingered in my heart for days after I first saw it. I was just a child like the heroine Dorothy, who won me over the instant she effortlessly sang the dreamy lines of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I was moved profoundly by the story of this young girl who had been caught up by a complicated dog matter and a whirling tornado that transported her to a strange and bewildering land far from home.

While watching the adventure play out on television, I joined the story in my imagination. I cheered for Dorothy as she came to the defense of her spirited puppy, Toto, when a witchy woman wanted him killed. I sank deep into the couch cushions and trembled with fear when the black and white farmhouse was lifted in a storm, then crashed down in an unfamiliar place of Technicolor.

Along the yellow brick road, I made friends when Dorothy made friends. Never again would I look at a scarecrow, a lion, or a tin can the same way! I shared in her longing for a safe return home to her Auntie Em and their farm in Kansas. My heart-hopes soared with hers as Dorothy was told of a powerful man in the Emerald City who could help her: the Wizard of Oz!

As with any good story, there were scary struggles and frustrating setbacks. Flying monkeys captured Dorothy and her friends, and a wicked witch set out to destroy her. Even so, determined Dorothy continued on the yellow brick road toward the Emerald City because she’d placed her hopes in the powers possessed by the famed Wizard of Oz.

Sadly, after persevering through all the dangerous predicaments, Dorothy and her friends found out that the wizard was, in fact, powerless. Powerless! What a stinkin’ disappointment! Dorothy was crushed. Her buddies were crushed. I was crushed. How in the world could this happen? Hope had skipped alongside them for the entire journey down the yellow brick road. How could anticipated strength possibly fade to weakness?

Alas, it did.

Hearts were heavy with the ache of disappointment. All seemed lost. Then a surprising shimmer of hope broke through: Dorothy actually possessed the power that she needed to get home. In fact, she’d had the power all along. Her ruby red slippers were the key!

Let me just say, at this point happy dances were thrown down on both the screen and in my living room.

Tears fell as goodbyes and hugs were shared. Then Dorothy grabbed Toto and made her way home by calling on the power that had been with her all along. Within seconds, the Kansas girl found herself back over the rainbow of a dream, safe and sound at home.

To this day, that story still moves me.

I can relate to Dorothy on so many levels. She was a girl with a dream and a song in her heart. An average, ordinary girl who had to deal with complicated people and sort through difficult circumstances. A girl who knew how it felt to place her hope in other people and be disappointed. A girl who finally came upon the strength she needed to find her way home.

Isn’t that true for all of us?

Aren’t we continually looking for the strength we need to bring our hopes into reality?

Moses, too, faced complicated challenges and whirling storms of circumstances. Born in a time when he, as a Hebrew baby, was supposed to have been killed, Moses was saved by God’s sovereign grace when Pharaoh’s daughter pulled him from the Nile and kept him as her own.

A Hebrew among Egyptians, Moses was raised in a land and culture that was far removed from his heritage and from the One true God of Israel; as far as black and white is from Technicolor.

You know this story! We saw it on the flannel graph boards in Sunday school as little girls. We watched Charlton Hesston act it out in the movie The Ten Commandments. Moses had it all in the palace, lost it all when he murdered an Egyptian soldier, then eventually, risked it all for the holy God who called out to him and commissioned him from a flame. (Need a refresher course on the details? Go read the book of Exodus. It’s completely amazing.)

Moses set out to free his people through the power of God. Though the Pharaoh doubted God’s strength, the Lord displayed His might, plague after plague, until finally it looked like Pharaoh got the memo. At last he let God’s people go. Moses’s yellow brick road of rescue led him and the Israelites out of Egypt. But when Pharaoh changed his mind and gathered his army to chase them, the Israelites ran smack dab up against the Red Sea.

Major problem.

Not one to be hindered by impossibility, the Lord took care of business in a huge and powerful way. He parted and held back the Red Sea for Moses and the Israelites so they could escape destruction and experience deliverance. After His people crossed over safely, God again demonstrated His strength by sweeping the Pharaoh and his army into the sea, killing every last one of them (Exodus 13 and 14).

My goodness. What a story! What. A. God!

“Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses” (Exodus 14:31, ESV).

Then a big ol’ party went down as Moses and the Israelites sang to the Lord a song that’s commonly referred to as the Song of Moses.

The Lord is my strength and my song;

He has become my salvation.

He is my God, and I will praise him,

My father’s God, and I will exalt him.

(Exodus 15:2)

In Exodus 15, Moses calls God his strength and celebrates the power that brought salvation to his people. Oz is a Hebrew word for strength. How about that!? The Bible reveals many names that highlight the power of our God; El Sali is a Hebrew name meaning “God of my Strength; God my Rock.”

King David also calls God his Strength, El Sali, in Psalm 59:9: “O my Strength, I watch for you; you, O God, are my fortress.” Then again in verse 17, “O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.”

Are you experiencing the strength of God?

You might be struggling with this, wondering where God is in your story. Perhaps you find yourself lamenting to the God of Strength, El Sali, wondering why you’ve been forgotten and why you feel weak. Maybe things are good for you right now, but you know of others who have encountered shadows along their yellow brick roads. Each of us is guaranteed life challenges, but God promises to be our strength when we call on Him. He is not a puffed up and powerless wizard of Oz hiding behind a curtain, pulling strings. He is El Sali, the God of Strength who loves you and longs to move in and through your life.

Will you trust Him more deeply today and allow His joy to be your strength?

Let’s Pray

Dear Lord, my Strength, El Sali, You are powerful and loving. Thank you for allowing me—this average, ordinary girl with complicated relationships and difficult circumstances—to have access to Your perfect Strength when I am weak. Help me to trust You when all my heart sees are lions and tigers and bears.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Now It’s Your Turn

Read the first half of Psalm 84:5: Blessed are those whose strength is in you. To whom is this comment directed? In what ways has this been true in your life?

I love this name of God so much that I co-wrote a song with Jourdan Johnson about it called My Strength, My Song. Click here to hear the song on my blog.

More from the Girlfriends

Today’s GiG devotion is adapted from Knowing God by Name by Sharon Jaynes, Gwen Smith, & Mary Southerland by permission of Multnomah, division of Random House, Inc. This is the perfect book for individual study or for gathering a group of friends in what we call GiG Groups. With impactful devotions, study questions, journal pages, and free on-line video intros, this book is a resource you’ll refer to time-and-time again.

SPECIAL OFFER: Gwen is offering a 20% OFF discount on the Knowing God by Name book from her site when you use the coupon code: 20OFF. Click here to get yours now.

Seeking God?

Click HERE to find out more about how to have a personal

relationship with Jesus Christ.

Girlfriends in God

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