The Daily Lectionary for SATURDAY, March 2, 2019

John 16:1-4a

The Daily Lectionary

SATURDAY, March 2, 2019

(Revised Common Lectionary Year C)

Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15

Thanksgiving for Vindication
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath Day.
1  It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
     to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2  to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
     and your faithfulness by night,
3  to the music of the lute and the harp,
     to the melody of the lyre.
4  For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
     at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
     and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the Lord;
     they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 In old age they still produce fruit;
     they are always green and full of sap,
15 showing that the Lord is upright;
     he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Isaiah 30:8-17

A Rebellious People
8  Go now, write it before them on a tablet,
     and inscribe it in a book,
   so that it may be for the time to come
     as a witness forever.
9  For they are a rebellious people,
     faithless children,
   children who will not hear
     the instruction of the Lord;
10 who say to the seers, “Do not see”;
     and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;
   speak to us smooth things,
     prophesy illusions,
11 leave the way, turn aside from the path,
     let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel:
   Because you reject this word,
     and put your trust in oppression and deceit,
     and rely on them;
13 therefore this iniquity shall become for you
     like a break in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse,
     whose crash comes suddenly, in an instant;
14 its breaking is like that of a potter’s vessel
     that is smashed so ruthlessly
   that among its fragments not a sherd is found
     for taking fire from the hearth,
     or dipping water out of the cistern.

15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
   In returning and rest you shall be saved;
     in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.
   But you refused 16 and said,
   “No! We will flee upon horses”—
     therefore you shall flee!
   and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”—
     therefore your pursuers shall be swift!
17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one,
     at the threat of five you shall flee,
   until you are left
     like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
     like a signal on a hill.

John 16:1-4a

16:1 “I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. 3 And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. 4 But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.

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.

The Daily Lectionary is a three year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year C. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2019, we will be in Year A. The year which ended at Advent 2018 was Year B. These readings complement the Sunday and festival readings: Thursday through Saturday readings help prepare the reader for the Sunday ahead; Monday through Wednesday readings help the reader reflect and digest on what they heard in worship. Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org
Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God.

Verse of the Day for SATURDAY, March 2, 2019

Job 23:10-11 (NIV) But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside.

Read all of Job 23

Listen to Job 23

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 - La gran lección de la vida

La gran lección de la vida

El Señor está cerca de los quebrantados de corazón, y salva a los de espíritu abatido.

~ Salmo 34:18 (NVI)

La posibilidad de conocerles a cada uno de ustedes y de escuchar sus historias, me ha dado un gran crecimiento. He visto que lo que he vivido no da ni al tobillo para lo que tienen que vivir día tras día hombres y mujeres en el mundo que están en esas horribles cárceles.

He visto de cerca el ambiente que se vive allí. Incluso, he notado la frialdad de las personas que trabajan en ese lugar y que no se conmueven ante el dolor de una madre.

No obstante, también he visto hombres y mujeres de Dios que, dejando sus familias y sus días de descanso, desempeñan el gran trabajo como «capellanes» al llevar a una sola voz la verdad de Dios a esas vidas que claman por perdón.

Gracias a cada uno de ustedes. Gracias a todos los que han dejando sus prejuicios que van a las cárceles llevando esperanza y amor a los que más lo necesitan. Me queda la enorme satisfacción de saber que hay mucho por hacer y que tú y yo podemos ser esas lámparas que se enciendan en esos lugares.

También aprendí que hoy esas personas están allá, pero a cualquiera de nosotros nos podría pasar. A cualquiera de nuestros jóvenes, esposos, esposas les podrían suceder.

En fin, no seamos indiferentes a la necesidad. Si Dios te ha inquietado a trabajar de cerca para los presos, no dejes pasar más tiempo y únete a la causa.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
La posibilidad de conocerles a cada uno de ustedes y de escuchar sus historias, me ha dado un gran crecimiento. He visto que lo que he vivido no da ni al tobillo para lo que tienen que vivir día tras día hombres y mujeres en el mundo que están en esas horribles cárceles.

Standing Strong Through the Storm - WALK IN UNITY

WALK IN UNITY

“I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

~ John 17:23 (NIV)

Persecution, pressure and suffering also bring about a unity that honors God. Burma is the model to which I was first exposed. Missionaries were all expelled in 1966. My first visit was in the early 1970’s. The church was a small minority in a dominant Buddhist society with a secular socialist government. On Sunday morning, I was asked to speak and break bread with the Brethren believers, in the afternoon share with the Baptists and in the evening speak at the Pentecostal church. No one asked me my denomination. I was simply a “Brother in Christ” and represented an evangelical radio organization, Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC).

I found this unity so refreshing. And praise the Lord I have discovered it in other parts of our world, most often outside of North America. The closest geographic location is on the island of Cuba. What a joy to be with Baptist and Pentecostal pastors together who regularly spend hours on their knees before God with one another. How refreshing to attend youth evangelism meetings with a variety of denominations represented in the audience and speakers. Is there any wonder why revival continues to sweep through the island to this day?

Ugandan pastor, Kefa Sempangi, shares that under the intense persecution of Idi Amin, the Holy Spirit united the hearts of Uganda’s church leaders. The emphasis became loving one another and rejecting the earlier focus on differences and mass evangelism. He writes:

Most of us had in various ways tried to be evangelists in our own rights. In the mission command we had heard as young converts, the emphasis had been on go, not love. It was the ministry, not the brethren, that was most important. As a result we had come to love our sermons more than the people to whom we preached. We had come to love the faceless converts of mass evangelism more than our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Now as the Holy Spirit began to unite our hearts we saw that before the Great Commission, came the commandment: love one another. We were to confess and reject our disagreements. In the past we had majored on our differences—Anglicans did not say hello to Baptists and, when a Pentecostal met a Roman Catholic, he did not feel he was meeting a brother. But now we heard God’s call to live broken lives before one another. We were not to build our fellowship on the foundation of baptism, tongues or liturgy. We were to build on the reconciling blood of Jesus Christ.”[1]

RESPONSE: Today I will rejoice in God’s plan and God’s will: that His children walk together in unity.

PRAYER: Lord, may my love for brothers and sisters today, and the resulting unity, show the world that You sent Jesus.

1. F. Kefa Sempangi with Barbara R. Thompson. A Distant Grief (Glendale, CA: Regal Books, 1979), pp. 42-43.

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 - Tending Our Marriage

Tending Our Marriage

Isaiah 5:1–7

“What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?”

~ Isaiah 5:4 (NIV)

When I was young, I attended the wedding of an extended family member. I don’t remember much about the ceremony, dancing or food. But I do remember the terrible fight at the reception. In front of all the guests, a woman screamed at her husband, broke down in tears and hid in a corner while her friends consoled her. The man yelled back, threatened to hit her, then stormed out of the building with his friends. He did not return that night.

It might shock you to learn that I’m describing the bride and groom. But it probably will not surprise you to learn that their marriage lasted less than a month.

In Isaiah 5, God addressed the people of Israel and described himself as the owner of a vineyard and Israel as the vineyard. He had chosen a prime location for his grapevines, nurtured the soil and protected the land from harm. But in the end, the crop of grapes was no good. So he asked, “What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?”

The farmer had done everything right; there was no reason why the crop should not have flourished. But the painful message soon became clear: Israel had failed despite God’s efforts to ensure her success. Though the people kept up elaborate rituals of worship, those were meaningless to God because the people neglected to do what he truly valued: caring for orphans, widows and the poor. As a result, they managed to spoil the harvest that God had nurtured.

God offers this same nurturing care today for your marriage. Even before you met your spouse, God was preparing the soil, removing the stones and building a watchtower. God placed you in a cultivated land, ready to produce good fruit. But in this vineyard, the Farmer doesn’t do all the work; you must also do your part.

More and more Christian couples today are producing bad marital fruit, spoiling their relationship despite God the Farmer’s efforts. Some couples, like the couple mentioned earlier, manage to kill their vine before it even takes hold.

In the end, a marriage will be judged not by the strength of its passion or by its ceremonial promises, but by the fruit it produces. The Farmer is there to weed, water and cultivate. But we must also take practical steps that will help our marriage reflect authentic devotion to each other and a true love for God and his values.

We can choose to forgive quickly and resist resentment. We can serve each other in purposeful ways throughout the day. We can encourage each other with words of love and by praying for each other. We can invite strong Christian couples to mentor us in spiritual growth. We can minister to others in need. By authentically reflecting God’s values in our relationship, we can do our part to nourish our marriage vineyard and produce a harvest of good fruit.

David and Kelli Trujillo

Let’s Talk

• When we reflect on our life together (how we met, our courtship and our engagement), where do we see God’s guidance, protection and nurturing?
• If we, as God’s people, are compared to a vineyard, how might we ensure the growth of good fruit within our marriage? What types of fruit do we most want to produce as a couple?
• What habits or behaviors have we fallen into that could spoil the fruit of our marriage? What steps can we take to stop those damaging patterns?

Prayer for Couples

Lord be our Light

Lord be our light.

When the darkness seeps in,

brighten our days with the power of praise.

Lord be our light.

Lord be our shield.

When the arrows of hurt tear us down,

help us to hold a covering of gold.

Lord be our shield.

Lord be our hope.

When despair starts to rise

keep us afloat, blow the sails of our heart.

Lord be our hope.

Lord be our sight.

When confusion ensnares,

free us to see, to hold onto our dreams.

Lord be our sight.

Lord, come be our light,

our shield, our hope and our sight.

For in you we trust,

in you we arise.

When I was young, I attended the wedding of an extended family member. I don’t remember much about the ceremony, dancing or food. But I do remember the terrible fight at the reception.

LHM Daily Devotions - Wondrous Love That Welcomes All

"Wondrous Love That Welcomes All"

Mar. 2, 2019

(Jesus said) "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out."

~ John 6:37 (ESV)

Jesus spoke this wondrous promise in despised Galilee. The greater part of His public ministry was spent in that forlorn, forsaken country which the proud citizens of Jerusalem avoided as they kept their distance from a plague. Yet in Galilee, the spurned homeland of unclean half-breeds, our Lord performed some of His mightiest miracles, preached some of His most powerful sermons. He might have appeared before Caesars in Rome, scholars in Athens, celebrated churchmen in Jerusalem; but to emphasize for you and me that He came "to seek and to save that which was lost," that He is, in truth, the "Friend of ... sinners," the Son of the Highest made man for us, He deliberately sought to teach, comfort, and save those whom others shunned. Today, proud men may pay no attention to you; yet the God of Galilean grace never overlooks even the lowliest and humblest, the underprivileged and overtaxed. The less interest men show in you, the more devotion the Savior can shower upon you.

"Can this really be true?" Some of you ask, thinking of the broken promises by which men have led others astray. Now, if our text, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out," was merely a human pledge your doubts and suspicions would be justified. Too often leaders have been exalted as apostles of righteousness when, in truth, they prove themselves guides to grief. Truly, this is the age of broken covenants and shattered pledges, when men think it's smart to deceive and destroy their fellow men.

Believe with all your heart, however, that Jesus never fails, that the Son of God always keeps His Word! Modern pulpits may question Christ's Gospel, present-day unbelief deny it, hell-bound scoffers ridicule it, but our Savior's truth remains. The heavens above must disappear, the earth beneath us be destroyed, the universe about us dissolve, before the Almighty's glorious guarantee, "My Words will not pass away," (Matthew 24:35b) is broken. Where has a single assurance given by our blessed Redeemer ever failed? Where has anyone who came to Jesus in trusting faith ever been cast out? I challenge you skeptics to name a single sinner who has penitently and trustfully made his way to the cross without being received and restored.

Do you feel your sins too many, too injurious to your neighbor, too depraved and vicious, to let you even crawl to Christ? Do you begin to wonder whether you have a chance to be saved? Push all this aside! Take God at His Word! For you, the changeless, errorless Teacher of truth promised, "whoever comes to Me I will never cast out." Can you not see, then, that you must take Christ and His cross earnestly, throw away all human errors and delusions which seek to keep you from the Savior? There is no sin, no charge raised by your conscience, no indictment directed by hell, for which your Redeemer will reject you.

Rather than doubt, let the triumphant hymn be your song: "Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me. And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!"

THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, remove our doubt and despair, and remind us of Your love-a love that welcomes all into your glorious fold. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

From "Wondrous Love That Welcomes All," a sermon excerpt from Dr. Walter Maier, the first 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).
Jesus spoke this wondrous promise in despised Galilee. The greater part of His public ministry was spent in that forlorn, forsaken country which the proud citizens of Jerusalem avoided as they kept their distance from a plague.

Хліб Наш Насущній - У пошуках скарбів

У пошуках скарбів

Читати: Приповістей 4:5-19 | Біблія за рік: Числа 26−27 ; Марка 8:1-21

Завантажити MP3

Бо ліпше надбання її від надбання срібла, і від щирого золота ліпший прибуток її. — Приповістей 3:14

Сховані скарби. Цей вислів звучить наче з якоїсь дитячої книжки. Але дивак-мільйонер Форест Фенн стверджує, що десь у Скелястих Горах заховав скриньку із золотом та ювелірними виробами на загальну суму в 2 мільйони доларів. Чимало людей вирушили на їх пошуки. Чотири чоловіки навіть загинули, намагаючись знайти ці сховані скарби.

Автор Книги Приповістей пропонує переконливу причину зупинитися й розважити: “Чи дійсно будь-які скарби варті таких відчайдушних пошуків?” В 4-му розділі Книги Приповістей батько, даючи настанови своєму синові щодо правильного життя, вказує на мудрість як на скарб, який варто знайти за будь-яку ціну (в. 8-12). Він навчав, що мудрість проведе його крізь життя; оберігатиме від падіння й зрештою увінчає славою. Через сотні років Яків – один із послідовників Ісуса – також вказував на важливість мудрості. Він писав: “А мудрість, що зверху вона, насамперед чиста, а потім спокійна, лагідна, покірлива, повна милосердя та добрих плодів, безстороння та нелукава” (Як. 3:17). Якщо прагнемо мудрості, то отримаємо й решту чудових речей у нашому житті.

Шукати мудрості – це зрештою шукати Бога, Який є джерелом всілякої мудрості й розуміння. І ця мудрість, що сходить згори, цінніша за всі заховані скарби, що лише можна уявити.

Чи ти шукаєш ревно Божу мудрість? Як ти шукатимеш її сьогодні?

Прочитайте брошуру “Як ви читаєте Біблію?”

Боже, пошли мені в серце прагнення до мудрості і навчи мене ходити Твоїми шляхами.

Автор Емі Петерсон

© 2019 Хліб Наш Насущній

Сховані скарби. Цей вислів звучить наче з якоїсь дитячої книжки. Але дивак-мільйонер Форест Фенн стверджує, що десь у Скелястих Горах заховав скриньку із золотом та ювелірними виробами на загальну суму в 2 мільйони доларів.