The Daily Lectionary Readings for SATURDAY, November 23, 2018

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Luke 18:9-14

The Daily Lectionary Readings

SATURDAY, November 23, 2018

(Year Two)

Old Testament

Malachi 3:13-4:6
3:13 You have spoken harsh words against me, says the Lord. Yet you say, “How have we spoken against you?” 14 You have said, “It is vain to serve God. What do we profit by keeping his command or by going about as mourners before the Lord of hosts? 15 Now we count the arrogant happy; evildoers not only prosper, but when they put God to the test they escape.”

The Reward of the Faithful
16 Then those who revered the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord took note and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who revered the Lord and thought on his name. 17 They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them as parents spare their children who serve them. 18 Then once more you shall see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

The Great Day of the Lord
4:1 See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

4 Remember the teaching of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

5 Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.

The Epistle

James 5:13-20
The Prayer of Faith
5:13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.

19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, 20 you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

The Gospel

Luke 18:9-14
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
18:9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Optional parts of the readings are set off in square brackets.

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector...

The Morning Prayer for SATURDAY, November 23, 2018

Saturday morning prayer

Dear Savior, help me remember as I begin my weekend activities. Whether work or leisure will engage me today, keep my thoughts and actions centered on You. Make it a day of contentment for me, no matter if the activities I face are pleasant or tedious. Keep me through the Holy Spirit from willful sins and from those sins I do not even realize I am committing. Help me be a positive influence in others' lives as I go my way. Let my inner rejoicing in Your salvation be evident in all I say and do so that I bring glory and not shame to Your most holy name.

Amen

Verse of the Day for SATURDAY, November 23, 2018

Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV) So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Read all of Colossians 2

Listen to Colossians 2

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

Un dia a la Vez - Oración por cambios en el matrimonio

Oración por cambios en el matrimonio

Dios, nuestro Dios, nos bendecirá. Dios nos bendecirá, y le temerán todos los confines de la tierra.

~ Salmo 67:6-7 (NVI)

Amante Dios, me presento delante de ti porque solo tú puedes ayudarme.

Te pido perdón por mis faltas, mis pensamientos y mis actitudes que me han apartado de tu voluntad respecto al matrimonio.

Reconozco que te he fallado al romper ese pacto de amor incondicional en mi matrimonio y destruyendo mi familia.

Ahora solo puedo acudir a ti para pedirte una nueva oportunidad. Ayúdame, Señor, a recuperar el amor y a mi familia.

Te prometo, mi Dios, que pondré todo de mi parte y seré obediente a ti. Dejaré a un lado la crítica a mi cónyuge y empezaré por cambiar yo.

Muéstrame, Señor, mis errores y guíame para hacer tu voluntad.

Bendice a mi familia.

En el nombre de Jesús, amén y amén.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
Amante Dios, me presento delante de ti porque solo tú puedes ayudarme...

Standing Strong Through the Storm - PAUL OF AFGHANISTAN

PAUL OF AFGHANISTAN

I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea…

~ 2 Corinthians 11:23b-25 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul suffered severely in his ministry of sharing the gospel in the first century. But Paul was always quick to point out that what others thought so terrible—his imprisonment—

God turned into good. Rather than hindering the spread of the gospel, it actually aided its advance (Philippians 1:12-14). Paul’s example was followed by many disciples down through the ages. You might be surprised to learn about one of these who lived in Afghanistan.

In Kabul, a brilliant young blind man who had memorized the whole Qur’an in Arabic listened to the gospel by radio and later publicly declared his faith in Jesus as his Lord. He became the first blind student to attend regular-sighted schools in Afghanistan. He graduated from University of Kabul with a law degree in order to defend Christians who might be persecuted for their faith. Some of his encouragement as a young believer came from a missionary from neighboring Iran, Mehdi Dibaj.

Under the communist regime, Paul was arrested on false charges and put in a notorious prison where tens of thousands were executed. There was no heat in the jail during the cold winters. He had to sleep on the freezing mud floor with only his overcoat. A prisoner next to him was trembling with cold since he did not even have a jacket. Paul remembered John the Baptist had said, “The man who has two coats should share with him who has none.” (Luke 3:11) He took off his only coat and gave it to the neighbor. From then on, the Lord miraculously kept him warm every night.

In prison, the communists gave Paul shock treatments to try to brainwash him. The electric burns left scars on his head. But he did not give in. God’s grace was sufficient. After release from prison he kept mastering foreign languages and continued translating the Bible, writing and preaching…as well as discipling new believers. In 1988, Paul was kidnapped by a fanatical Muslim group and charged with apostasy because he became a Christian. He was beaten for hours with rods and ultimately martyred. But Paul’s testimony lives on today as a trophy of God’s grace. He is affectionately remembered as “Afghanistan’s Apostle Paul”.

You can read more about Paul in Dr. Christy Wilson’s excellent book, More To Be Desired Than Gold, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 1994.

RESPONSE: Today I will live biblically no matter what circumstances I may face knowing that God’s grace is sufficient for me.

PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, for the inspiring example of Afghanistan’s Apostle Paul and his faithfulness in serving You to the end.

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

The NIV Couples Devotional - What We See in Each Other

What We See in Each Other

1 Samuel 16:1–13

“The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

~ 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

Samuel was sent to the house of Jesse to find a new king. When he got there, Samuel saw Eliab, one of Jesse’s sons. “Surely, he is the one God has chosen to be the next king,” Samuel thought. Evidently, like the previous king, Saul, Eliab was tall and striking. But Eliab was not the one God had in mind.

God warned Samuel not to assess people by their physical appearance. God reminded the old prophet that he doesn’t look at the outside; he looks at the inside. So each of Jesse’s sons passed before Samuel, but God did not indicate that any of them was the man God had sent him to find. Finally, David, the youngest son, came in from the fields. Then the Lord spoke to Samuel, telling him this was the right one.

When we look at someone’s outward appearance, we often fail to see what God sees. This message was clearly illustrated to writer John Fisher when he was speaking at a seminar. “A couple came in late, and I could see that they were in love,” Fisher said. “I couldn’t help but notice the woman was very attractive, while the guy was a real nerd.

“What could she see in him?” Fisher wondered. From the outside, this couple didn’t look like a match. “Then I realized she was blind,” Fisher said.

“What did she see in him? She saw everything that was important in a person. She saw love. While another woman might not have gotten past this man’s unimpressive exterior, she was blind to that. She only saw his heart. Blessed are the blind, for they can see people as they really are.”

Like Samuel, we often make judgments based on what people look like. But God doesn’t use looks as his criteria. He evaluates people by what’s in their hearts. He sees their character, their faithfulness and their commitment to him.

During courtship, we can be charmed by someone’s good looks, attentiveness or flattery. All of that can be fleeting. Over the course of a marriage, the real person breaks through. Perhaps as your marriage ages, your spouse’s outward appearance starts to change. Your spouse grays, loses hair or gains a little weight. Perhaps the two of you fall into a rut, and the special treatment that marked your dating period begins to wane. That’s when we need to remember what the Lord said to Samuel about focusing on what’s in the heart rather than what’s physically noticeable.

The success of a marriage comes, not in finding who we think initially is the “perfect” person for us, but in our willingness to adjust to the real person we married.

Jennifer Schuchmann

Let’s Talk

• What characteristics initially attracted us to each other? What qualities do we treasure most today?
• The blind woman never saw her partner’s appearance. Like God, she only saw his heart. Would we rather have people look at our appearance or at our heart? Why?
• What steps are we taking to improve our faith, our character and our commitment to God?

When we look at someone’s outward appearance, we often fail to see what God sees.

LHM Daily Devotions - Overcoming Life's Ups and Downs

"Overcoming Life's Ups and Downs"

Nov. 24, 2018

And after six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light.

~ Matthew 17:1-2 (ESV)

Mere religion is not the answer to the problems of our times. It offers no hope to people at the bottom of the valley, feeding them the notion, as it does, that they can live with "peace of mind" like bugs in a cocoon. Because we are human beings, we cannot be protected from the blows and irritations of living. We cannot live in unbroken serenity and undisturbed security. Christ does not offer such hope. He does not tell us there will be nor further problems or that all of our questions will have pat answers.

Christ does give answers to the problems of life, however. He Himself is that answer. He went the way for you. He goes the way with you, and He will go the way before you. You can see His glory on the mountain top, and at the bottom of the valley. There is no place where He is not the Redeemer of men, no circumstance in which He is not the Savior. Christ, the Son of God, is Lord. Christ, the Savior of the world, has a care for suffering humanity. Christ is your Lord, and He has a care for you. He calls you to have faith in Him.

Faith in Christ has its mountain tops, too. There are those moments when a man by faith in Christ sees everything clearly: God is Father, Christ is Savior, and all is right with the world. Faith in Christ has those moments when He seems almost to be transfigured right before your eyes. Those moments are important. They help prepare people of faith for the bottom of the valley.

Like Christ Himself, in whom they trust, people of faith have to be prepared for the bottom of the valley. Have you ever been in despair so deep and black that God seemed far away or even dead? Have you ever experienced what somebody has called "the dark night of the soul"? Have you ever hit bottom, the very bottom, just when you thought you were riding high? Has it happened to you in some severe personal or world crisis? In some illness or upon a death in the family?

It is all part of one picture, as Raphael painted it: on the top of the mountain Christ was transfigured for all of the pain-filled humanity in the bottom of the valley. It is all part of one picture. Yet, at the center of it stands the victorious Son of God in all His glory, having come through pain and suffering just like ours to be the Lord of all. See Him in all His glory, and follow Him in utter confidence from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the valley, and finally to the top of the mountain again, from which there will be no more returning. Amen.

THE PRAYER: Lord God, give us faith in Christ that we may know how to take the ups and downs, the twists and turns of life -- not complaining but always rejoicing in the hope of glory through Christ. Amen.

From "Top of the Mountain-Bottom of the Valley," a sermon excerpt from Oswald Hoffmann, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour. Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
Mere religion is not the answer to the problems of our times.

Lời Sống Hằng Ngày - Đấng Luôn Giúp Đỡ

Đấng Luôn Giúp Đỡ

Đọc: Giăng 14:15-16 | Đọc Kinh Thánh suốt năm: Ê-xê-chi-ên 22-23; I Phi-e-rơ 1

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Đức Thánh Linh sẽ... nhắc các con nhớ tất cả những gì Ta đã phán với các con. Giăng 14:26

Sau khi bị chấn thương cột sống dẫn đến bị liệt, Marty quyết định quay lại trường để lấy bằng Thạc sĩ Quản trị Kinh doanh. Bà Judy là mẹ của Marty đã giúp anh biến mục tiêu thành hiện thực. Bà ngồi với anh trong từng buổi học và giờ học nhóm, ghi chép và hỗ trợ các vấn đề về công nghệ. Bà còn dìu anh lên bục khi nhận bằng. Điều tưởng chừng như không thể đạt được lại trở nên có thể vì Marty có được sự giúp đỡ không ngừng của mẹ mình.

Chúa Jêsus biết các môn đồ cũng cần sự giúp đỡ như thế sau khi Ngài về trời. Khi nói với họ rằng Ngài sắp rời khỏi họ, Ngài nói rằng họ sẽ kinh nghiệm mối quan hệ mới mẻ với Đức Chúa Trời qua Đức Thánh Linh. Đức Thánh Linh sẽ giúp đỡ họ từng giây phút—Ngài là giáo sư, Đấng hướng dẫn không chỉ sống với họ nhưng cũng sống trong họ (Gi. 14:17,26).

Đức Thánh Linh ngự trong lòng các môn đồ của Chúa Jêsus sẽ ban cho họ sự giúp đỡ đến từ Đức Chúa Trời, để họ đủ sức vượt qua những điều mà họ không thể làm bằng sức riêng khi ra đi chia sẻ Tin lành. Trong những giờ phút khó khăn, Đức Thánh Linh sẽ nhắc lại cho họ nhớ mọi điều Chúa Jêsus đã phán với họ (c.26): Lòng các con đừng bối rối… Hãy yêu thương nhau… Ta là sự sống lại và sự sống.

Bạn có đang đối diện với những điều quá sức lực và khả năng của mình không? Hãy nương dựa nơi sự giúp đỡ của Đức Thánh Linh. Thánh Linh của Đức Chúa Trời đang hành động trong bạn sẽ mang đến sự vinh hiển mà Ngài xứng đáng nhận.

Lạy Chúa, con cảm ơn Ngài đã luôn vùa giúp con qua Đức Thánh Linh. Xin giúp con nương dựa nơi Thánh Linh Ngài để nhận được sự giúp đỡ.

Với quyền năng của Thánh Linh Chúa, đừng bao giờ nói: “Tôi không thể.”

—Oswald Chambers

bởi Jennifer Benson Schuldt

© 2018 Lời Sống Hằng Ngày
Sau khi bị chấn thương cột sống dẫn đến bị liệt, Marty quyết định quay lại trường để lấy bằng Thạc sĩ Quản trị Kinh doanh.