The Daily Readings for SATURDAY, March 10, 2018

That Which Defiles
Mark 7:1-23

Daily Readings

SATURDAY, March 10, 2018

Genesis 47:27-48:7
27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number. 28 Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. 29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” “I will do as you say,” he said. 31 “Swear to me,” he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
Manasseh and Ephraim
48 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. 2 When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed. 3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me 4 and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’ 5 “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6 Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. 7 As I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).

1 Corinthians 10:1-13
10 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Mark 7:1-23
That Which Defiles
7 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) 5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” 6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” 9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 11 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— 12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” 14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” [16] 17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) 20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

[Mark 7:16] Some manuscripts include here the words of 4:23 [If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.]

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
“Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.”

The Morning Prayer for SATURDAY, March 10, 2018

Loving Father, I gripe and grumble when I encounter painful circumstances. I complain about bad luck or not getting the breaks in life. I wonder why you allow such pain to occur to me and to others. Yet I know that I can take my grievances directly and openly to you. I can admit my confusion and my disappointment. I know I am approaching the only One who can really do something in my times of need. Thank you for your patience and your kindness to me. In Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen

Verse of the Day for SATURDAY, March 10, 2018

Matthew 26:41 (NIV) “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Read all of Matthew 26

Listen to Matthew 26

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

Morning Devotions with Chaplain Kenny - Meditation

Meditation

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

~ Matthew 26:40-46 (NIV)

Jesus said, “Keep watch with me.” If you have ever sat with a loved one while waiting for that person to die, perhaps you know something of how the three men who waited with Jesus might have felt. He had told them, repeatedly, that he was going away. But now they see him in anguish, and they can see that it is all starting to happen, in perhaps a more terrible way than they had imagined. They could not understand what would come in the next few days, so the waiting was full of dread, the dark kind of sadness that feels unbearable.

Jesus said, “My soul is overwhelmed to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” But instead they fell asleep. Still, if we disparage the disciples for their inability to stay awake, maybe we haven’t spent enough time thinking about this scene, and maybe we have never prayed to the point of exhaustion. There is a point at which our circumstances can no longer be examined. There is a point after which a person can pray no more. This is when the Holy Spirit must take over for us “through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26), perhaps even while we sleep.

Jesus asked God three times to take away the suffering that was coming, not just the torture and ridicule, but the unbearable thought of facing all of God’s wrath at once, the Father’s hatred for sin all falling at once on the head of his innocent Son. But Jesus followed his request with “may your will be done.”

When we ask God for something three times, and he does not give us what we want, we are often angry and begin to question his goodness. And when our friends fail us, we may want to find new friends. But Jesus, even as he faced the beginning of the most terrible time there ever was on earth, went back to encourage the friends who had failed him and to face his mission before God: the price of our salvation.

Loving Father, I gripe and grumble when I encounter painful circumstances. I complain about bad luck or not getting the breaks in life. I wonder why you allow such pain to occur to me and to others. Yet I know that I can take my grievances directly and openly to you. I can admit my confusion and my disappointment. I know I am approaching the only One who can really do something in my times of need. Thank you for your patience and your kindness to me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

In Jesus,
Chaplain 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. Taken from Once a Day 40 Days to Easter.
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Un dia a la Vez - El Manual de Instrucciones

El Manual de Instrucciones

La exposición de tus palabras nos da luz, y da entendimiento al sencillo.

~ Salmo 119:130 (NVI)

Este es el libro inspirado por Dios que nos ayuda a conocer cómo nuestro Dios creó este mundo. Además, nos muestra todo lo que Él hizo por nosotros al enviar a su único Hijo Jesucristo para que muriera por ti y por mí a fin de perdonar nuestros pecados.

A través de este maravilloso libro, Dios nos instruye para ser sabios, vivir una vida que le agrade y, de ese modo, hacer su voluntad. Cuando leemos este Manual, podemos conocer que Él es el mismo ayer, hoy y siempre.

Este es el libro más editado y más perseguido. Han tratado de acabarlo, lo han vituperado, y aun así, se mantiene vigente e incólume. A pesar de su antigüedad, sus enseñanzas no pierden vigencia. Siempre aconseja el bien y no el mal. En la literatura no hay otro libro más excelente que este. En todas las casas, escuelas, hospitales, hoteles y cárceles se encuentra siempre… «La Biblia».

No tienes que ser un erudito para entenderla, porque es el mismo Dios el que te la revela y te guía.

Mi motivación para ti hoy es que también la tengas como parte de la formación de tus hijos.

Enséñales a leerla, y si son niños pequeños, acostúmbralos a leérsela antes de ir a dormir.

Con el tiempo entenderás el tesoro que estás sembrando en sus corazones y en sus vidas.

La Biblia está al alcance de todos, desde Génesis hasta el Apocalipsis.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
Este es el libro inspirado por Dios que nos ayuda a conocer cómo nuestro Dios creó este mundo.

Standing Strong Through the Storm - Jesus The Overcomer

Jesus The Overcomer

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

~ Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)

Dr. Felix Ruh, a Jewish doctor in Paris, had a granddaughter who died of black diphtheria. Vowing to find out what had killed her, he locked himself in his laboratory for days and emerged with a fierce determination to prove, with his colleague, Louis Pasteur, the germ theory. The medical association had disapproved of Pasteur and had succeeded in getting him exiled, but he hid in the forest near Paris and erected a laboratory for his forbidden research.

Twenty beautiful horses were led out into the forest to the improvised laboratory. Scientists, doctors, and nurses came to watch the experiment. Ruh opened a steel vault and took out a large pail filled with black diphtheria germs, which he had cultured carefully for months. There were enough germs in that pail to kill everyone in France.

The scientist went to each horse and swabbed its nostrils, tongue, throat, and eyes with the deadly germs. Every horse except one developed a terrific fever and died. Most of the doctors and scientists wearied of the experiment and did not remain for what they thought would be the death of the remaining horse.

For several more days this final horse lingered, lying pathetically on the ground. While Ruh, Pasteur, and several others were sleeping on cots in the stables, the orderly on duty had been instructed to awaken the scientists should there be any change in the animal’s temperature during the night. About two a.m., the temperature showed a half degree decrease, and the orderly wakened Dr. Ruh. By morning the thermometer had dropped two more degrees. By night the fever was entirely gone, and the horse was able to stand, eat, and drink.

Then Dr. Ruh took a sledgehammer and struck that beautiful horse a deathblow between the eyes. The scientists drew blood from the veins of this animal that had developed the black diphtheria but had overcome it. They drove as fast as they could to the Paris municipal hospital and forced their way past the superintendent and the guards. They went into the ward where three hundred babies lay, segregated to die from black diphtheria. With the blood of the horse, they inoculated every one of the babies. All but three lived and recovered completely.

The blood of an overcomer saved them. The blood of an Overcomer has also spiritually saved many people. He too had to die to bring life to others.

RESPONSE: Today I will repeatedly praise Jesus for the blood He shed as an Overcomer for my sin.

PRAYER: Thank you, Lord, for sacrificing Yourself, an Overcomer, so that I might have abundant and eternal life.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.

NIV Devotionals for Couples - Fuel for the Long Run

Fuel for the Long Run

Read Isaiah 40:1–31

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

~ Isaiah 40:30–31 (NIV)

More weddings at which I tie the knot result in strong marriages than end in divorce. Maybe that’s because I won’t officiate unless both partners can openly declare their trust in God. I also insist that they go through significant prenuptial counseling. Still, one couple lasted a mere 14 weeks because he didn’t match up to her romantic ideals and she way overspent his budget. Another marriage survived for a decade before it was asphyxiated by his hyper-controlling tendencies.

But what scares me more is when a couple calls it quits after 20, 30 or 40 years. Once you get past the “11th-year-fear,” shouldn’t some deep interconnectedness set in to provide stability for the onslaught of the years? Shouldn’t it be like the old John Deere tractor that I farmed with as a boy, which took more work to get going than to keep running? I would strain to turn the massive flywheel over the first time, but once the magnets caught, the pistons popped and the flywheel gained momentum, it almost took an act of God to kill the thing!

God isn’t in the business of killing a good thing. As Isaiah notes, he “gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isaiah 40:29). Even in marriage? Especially in marriage, since God thought that one up in the first place. Still, how do we find the grace to run the race of relationship and not trip along the way?

Isaiah 40 isn’t about magic. Its opening verses recall the stumbling and sinfulness of God’s people. They speak also about the warm and compassionate heart of God. The rest of the chapter breathes a reminder to seek God’s care. Marriages, like careers or characters, aren’t made overnight. They happen when folks dig in for the long run and keep their eyes on the prize.

Psychiatrist M. Scott Peck said that the scariest people aren’t those who have quirky personalities or relational scars. The most threatening folk, he wrote in People of the Lie, are those who don’t believe in a power beyond themselves. When people stop praying and assume an attitude of belligerent self-sufficiency, said Peck, they shrink the world to their perspective and seek to control it according to their whims. The result is always horrifying.

Marriages that go the distance are inevitably built on trust—in God and in each other. It’s as an 81-year-old man told me from his oversized chair. Slapping his hands on the armrests, he said, “We’re 60 years married this week and mighty proud of our family. But it’s not us that did it; it’s the grace of God.”

Wayne Brouwer

Let’s Talk

• What do we depend on God for in our relationship? How do we express that dependency?
• Where do we need God’s help right now? Where are we stumbling or fainting? What should we ask for to recover our courage?
• Who around us has gone through rough places and survived? What can we learn from them? How might we gain new insights from their experiences?

God isn’t in the business of killing a good thing.

LHM Devotion - March 10, 2018 - A Piece of Bread

Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"A Piece of Bread"

Mar. 10, 2018

Read John 13:21-30

So when He had dipped the morsel, He gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."

~ John 13:26b-27 (ESV)

It was one of those little courtesies -- if you wanted to honor someone, you would dip a piece of bread into the sauce and offer it to him. As Jesus was the head of this feast, Judas was doubly honored -- singled out in front of the rest of the disciples to receive this gift in front of them all. But then Jesus spoke: "What you are going to do, do quickly."

It looks like a last chance. Judas has already taken money to betray Jesus into the hands of His enemies. Jesus knows that. And Judas knows that Jesus knows that -- Jesus has just told him so (see Matthew 26:25). And still, even now, Jesus says to him: "What you are going to do, do quickly."

It is as if He said to him: What are you going to do, Judas? You still have a choice. Even now, with the bread in your hands, you have a choice. You could make the mistaken assumptions of the other disciples true -- go out and give something to the poor, or buy something else for the feast. You could even stay in your place and finish dinner with us, a forgiven, restored disciple. You still have a choice.

Jesus loved Judas. But Jesus would not take his free will from him -- his own personal choice, to remain or betray. Neither will Jesus take our freedom from us. He calls us to Him in love, offering us the gifts of love, bread and wine, His own body and blood. And He says to us: "The time is short. Will you stay with Me, trust in Me, belong to Me, receive My forgiveness? What you are going to do, do quickly."

THE PRAYER: Lord, turn my heart to You and make me steadfast in Your love. Keep me from going astray. Amen.

Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
What do you do to honor guests in your home?

Devocional del CPTLN de 10 de Marzo de 2018 - UN BOCADO DE PAN

ALIMENTO DIARIO

"UN BOCADO DE PAN"

10 de Marzo de 2018

Leer Juan 13:21-30

Jesús mojó el pan y se lo dio a Judas Iscariote, hijo de Simón. Después del bocado, Satanás entró en él. Entonces Jesús le dijo: "Lo que vas a hacer, hazlo pronto".

~ Juan 13:26b-27 (RVC)

Era una pequeña cortesía: cuando uno quería honrar a alguien, tomaba un bocado de pan, lo mojaba en la salsa y se lo ofrecía. Dado que Jesús era el anfitrión del banquete, Judas se sintió doblemente honrado: elegido delante de todos los discípulos para recibir ese pequeño gesto especial. Pero luego Jesús habló, diciendo: "Lo que vas a hacer, hazlo pronto".

Aparenta ser una última oportunidad. Judas ya había tomado el dinero para traicionar a Jesús a manos de sus enemigos. Jesús lo sabía. Y Judas sabía que Jesús lo sabía, pues recién se lo había dicho: "[Judas] le preguntó: '¿Soy yo, Maestro?' Y Jesús le respondió: 'Tú lo has dicho'" (Mateo 25:25). Aun así, Jesús le dice: "Lo que vas a hacer, hazlo pronto".

Es como si le dijera: "¿Qué vas a hacer, Judas? Todavía estás a tiempo. Aun cuando tengas el pan en tus manos, estás a tiempo. Estás a tiempo de cambiar de parecer y de utilizar el dinero que has robado para dárselo a los pobres o para comprar algo más para el banquete. Estás a tiempo de quedarte con nosotros y ser perdonado y restaurado. Todavía estás a tiempo.

Jesús amaba a Judas. Pero nunca le iba a quitar su libre albedrío: la posibilidad de elegir entre quedarse o traicionarlo. De la misma manera, Jesús tampoco va a quitarnos nunca nuestro libre albedrío. Él nos ofrece su amor, su cuerpo y su sangre, y nos dice: "El tiempo es corto. ¿Te quedarás conmigo, confiarás en mí y recibirás mi perdón? Lo que vas a hacer, hazlo pronto".

ORACIÓN: Señor, vuelve mi corazón a ti y mantenme firme en tu amor. No permitas que me aleje nunca de ti. En Jesús. Amén.

© Copyright 2018 Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones. Que a través de estos devocionales, la Palabra de Dios te refresque en tu diario caminar.
¿Qué haces para honrar a los invitados en tu hogar?

Lời Sống Hằng Ngày - Xin Dẫn Con Đến Vầng Đá

Xin Dẫn Con Đến Vầng Đá

Đọc: Thi Thiên 61 | Đọc Kinh Thánh suốt năm: Phục truyền 11-13, Mác 12:1-27

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Từ vùng địa cực, con kêu cầu cùng Chúa vì tâm hồn con khốn khổ. Thi thiên 61:2

Trong khi đi mua máy giữ ẩm, tôi chú ý đến một phụ nữ lớn tuổi đang đi tới đi lui trên lối đi. Tôi nghĩ chắc bà cũng đang đi mua máy giữ ẩm nên nhường chỗ để bà bước lên trước. Không lâu sau đó, chúng tôi nói chuyện với nhau về một dịch cúm đang xuất hiện trong khu vực đã khiến bà bị ho và đau đầu dai dẳng.

Vài phút sau, bà tuôn ra một tràng chỉ trích cay đắng, suy đoán về nguồn gốc của dịch cúm. Tôi chỉ biết lắng nghe và không biết nên nói thế nào. Lát sau, bà rời cửa hàng, vẫn còn tức tối và thất vọng. Mặc dù chứng kiến sự thất vọng của bà nhưng tôi lại không thể làm gì để xoa dịu nỗi đau của bà.

Đa-vít, vị vua thứ hai của Y-sơ-ra-ên đã viết các bài Thi Thiên để trình bày nỗi giận dữ và thất vọng của mình với Chúa. Nhưng Đa-vít biết rằng Chúa không chỉ lắng nghe, Ngài còn làm điều gì đó với nỗi đau của ông. Trong Thi Thiên 61, ông viết: “Vì tâm hồn con khốn khổ; xin dẫn con đến vầng đá cao hơn con” (c.2). Chúa là “nơi trú ẩn” của ông (c.3), là “vầng đá” mà Đa-vít chạy đến.

Khi chúng ta đau đớn, hoặc tiếp xúc với ai đó đang đau đớn, thật tốt để noi theo cách Đa-vít đã làm. Chúng ta có thể tiến về “vầng đá cao hơn” hoặc dẫn người khác đến đó. Tôi ước gì mình đã nói về Chúa cho người phụ nữ tại cửa hàng. Dù có thể Chúa không cất đi mọi nỗi đau của chúng ta, nhưng chúng ta có thể nghỉ yên trong sự bình an của Ngài và trong sự đảm bảo rằng Ngài lắng nghe tiếng kêu cầu của chúng ta.

Lạy Cha Thiên Thượng, xin giúp con biết quan tâm đến những ai đang cần được lắng nghe và đang cần biết niềm hy vọng đến từ sự hiện diện của Ngài.

Hãy nghỉ yên nơi Vầng Đá.

bởi Linda Washington

© 2018 Lời Sống Hằng Ngày
Khi chúng ta đau đớn, hoặc tiếp xúc với ai đó đang đau đớn, thật tốt để noi theo cách Đa-vít đã làm. Chúng ta có thể tiến về “vầng đá cao hơn” hoặc dẫn người khác đến đó.