The Daily Lectionary for TUESDAY, January 28, 2020

Psalm 27:7-14; Judges 7:12-22; Philippians 2:12-18

The Daily Lectionary

TUESDAY, January 28, 2020

(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)

Psalm 27:7-14

Take courage in God

7  Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
     be merciful to me and answer me.
8  My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
     Your face, Lord, I will seek.
9  Do not hide your face from me,
     do not turn your servant away in anger;
     you have been my helper.
   Do not reject me or forsake me,
     God my Savior.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
     the Lord will receive me.
11 Teach me your way, Lord;
     lead me in a straight path
     because of my oppressors.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
     for false witnesses rise up against me,
     spouting malicious accusations.

13 I remain confident of this:
     I will see the goodness of the Lord
     in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
     be strong and take heart
     and wait for the Lord.

Judges 7:12-22

God leads Gideon to victory

7:12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.

13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”

14 His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”

15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.” 16 Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.

17 “Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”

19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. 20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.

22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.

Philippians 2:12-18

The call to shine like stars

2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

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

The Daily Lectionary is a three-year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year A. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2020, we will be in Year B. The year which ended at Advent 2019 was Year C. 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 what they heard in worship. Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org
The Daily Lectionary for TUESDAY, January 28, 2020
Psalm 27:7-14; Judges 7:12-22; Philippians 2:12-18

The Daily Prayer for TUESDAY, January 28, 2020

The Daily Prayer

TUESDAY, January 28, 2020

Early Christian apologist Tertullian wrote in the second century, “It is not fitting to serve at the same time the symbol of Christ and the symbol of the devil, the power light, and the power darkness. One and the same soul cannot serve two masters. And how may we wage war without the sword that God himself has taken away from us? How can we learn the use of the sword, when Our Lord said that he who raised the sword would perish by the sword? And how can the sons of peace take part in combat?”

Jesus, you are known as both the Lion of Judah and the Sacrificial Lamb. As we follow you, we learn both mighty power and humble submission. Teach us when to imitate you as Lion and when as Lamb. Amen.

Verse of the Day for TUESDAY, January 28, 2020

John 4:24

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Read all of John 4

Listen to John 4

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 - Martes 28 de enero de 2020

Dios es tu ayudador

No tengas miedo ni te desanimes, porque Dios el Señor, mi Dios, estará contigo. No te dejará ni te abandonará.

—1 Crónicas 28:20 (NVI)

Dios es el único que nos ayuda en medio del dolor en la pérdida de un ser querido. Es el único que puede comprender ese dolor porque Él también perdió a su Hijo, Jesús.

Dios es nuestro Consolador y nos lo dejó por medio del Espíritu Santo. Por eso, cuando estamos sufriendo, nuestro Padre se interesa por nuestro dolor.

Y nos envía consuelo, paz y alivio.

¿Por qué Dios permite el dolor? Nunca entenderemos el porqué Dios lo permite. Entonces, ¿cómo consuelas a una madre que por años disfrutó de su hijo y ahora no lo ve más? ¿Cómo llenas una habitación que ha quedado repleta de recuerdos como fotos, ropa, juguetes y cosas que te recuerdan ese hijo amado? Solo Dios puede ser nuestra ayuda en medio de la pérdida. Él es el único que nos puede llenar de la paz que sobrepasa todo entendimiento.

Si estás atravesando por esta situación y has perdido un ser querido, recuerda que Dios es tu ayudador. Él te ama y te consuela en medio del dolor …

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
Dios es el único que nos ayuda en medio del dolor en la pérdida de un ser querido.

Standing Strong Through the Storm - Tuesday, January 28, 2020

SATAN’S CHANGING TACTICS

…We declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

—1 Corinthians 2:7-8 (NIV)

Today’s devotional comes from our founder and friend, Brother Andrew:

Have you ever noticed the strategy Satan used throughout Old Testament history? His attacks were aimed at preventing the birth of the Messiah at Bethlehem, but, once Jesus was born, Satan’s tactics changed somewhat. In some instances, he tried to kill Jesus before the Lord could reach the cross. At other times, Satan engineered numerous attempts to discredit Him—to cause Him to stumble or to sin.

But Satan met defeat at the cross. He failed to understand God’s strategy, and his final blunder actually forced events so that Jesus, though innocent, was condemned to die. The Apostle Paul noted that Satan did not understand this in 1 Corinthians 2:8. Since that time, Satan’s tactics have changed. He’s still concerned about preventing the Word—the Word that was with God and is God (John 1:1)—from reaching people who are under Satan’s dominion. His attack is now two-pronged.

First Satan concentrates on the life and name of Jesus which each and every believer bears as the Lord’s representative. I believe it is important for Christians undergoing persecution to realize the attack they are under is actually directed not at them, but at the life of Jesus in them, a life which they have power to transmit to others.

Satan will make every effort to discredit you, to frighten you and to silence your witness in order that the new life in you stops with you. Sometimes Satan overreaches himself, just as he did at the cross, and sends a believer to a martyr’s grave but that life lives on in other believers who continue to bear witness more gloriously and triumphantly than ever.

That the church not only survives but grows under such persecution has been demonstrated beautifully by the church in China. After missionaries were forced to leave in 1950, and all ties were cut with the body of Christ, believers were put through the horrible experience of Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Christians were killed or imprisoned, Bibles burned, and the remaining believers scattered all over China. The attack was clearly on the life and name of Jesus as manifested in believer’s lives.

As these sufferers scattered, they took the life of Jesus with them, and just as was the case with the early believers in Jerusalem, “Those who were scattered went about preaching the Word” (Acts 8:4). Now we see the harvest in China as millions of Christians are identified, meeting together for fellowship and worship in remote provinces…

I want others to have the one who makes me happy—Jesus.

RESPONSE: Today I will be aware of Satan’s attempts to silence my witness for Jesus and resist him!

PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, for the way You bring good from the evil tactics of the enemy of our soul. Help me stand strong against his attack on the life and name of Jesus in me.

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

LHM Daily Devotions January 28, 2020 - The Son We Waited For

"The Son We Waited For"

Jan. 28, 2020

The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, "As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the LORD and dwell there forever." Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the LORD establish his word." So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. And the child was young. Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. And she said, "Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the LORD. For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to Him. Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.

—1 Samuel 1:21-28 (ESV)

Readers will find in both the Old and New Testaments instances of couples desperately hoping to have children but being unable to. There are the well-known cases of Abraham and Sarah before the birth of Isaac (see Genesis 21:1-6) and Zechariah and Elizabeth before the birth of John the Baptist (see Luke 1:5-24). Here we have in 1 Samuel another example, that of Elkanah and Hannah before the birth of Samuel. As was the case for the parents of Isaac and John, Elkanah and Hannah had long hoped and prayed for the birth of a child, and this eventually happened for them (see 1 Samuel 1:19-20).

The birth of a firstborn son was a big deal in the ancient world. It was to this child that belonged certain special rights such as a double portion of the inheritance. He too was the one who would inherit his father's role as head of the family at his father's passing. But to no first son has there ever been given greater privilege and significance than to God's own Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Here's what the apostle Paul says of Jesus in Colossians 1:15-20: "He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross."

Jesus—not just another son lent to the Lord, but the Lord's own Son given to us.

THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, fix our eyes on Your Son—the first, the last, the beginning, and the end. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. Why is childlessness such a big issue for some people? Can you relate to this?
2. What does it mean to call Jesus "the Firstborn of all creation"?
3. Why was it important for Jesus to be born as a human into this world?

This Daily Devotion was written by Paul Schreiber. Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
Why is childlessness such a big issue for some people? Can you relate to this?

CPTLN devocional del 28 de enero de 2020 - El hijo que esperábamos

ALIMENTO DIARIO

El hijo que esperábamos

28 de Enero de 2020

Al año siguiente, Elcana fue con toda su familia a ofrecer su sacrificio al Señor y cumplir con su voto. Pero Ana le dijo a su marido: «Yo no iré hasta que destete al niño. Entonces lo llevaré y lo presentaré al Señor, para que se quede allá para siempre.» Y Elcana le respondió: «Haz lo que creas que es mejor. Quédate hasta que lo destetes, y que el Señor cumpla su palabra.» Y Ana se quedó y crio a su hijo hasta que lo destetó. Después, lo llevó con ella a la casa del Señor en Silo, y además llevó tres becerros, veinte litros de harina y una vasija de vino. El niño aún era muy pequeño. En cuanto mataron el becerro, el niño fue llevado a Elí. Y ella le dijo: «Señor mío, ¡que tengas una larga vida! Yo soy aquella mujer que estuvo aquí, junto a ti, orando al Señor. Oraba por este niño, y el Señor me lo concedió. He venido porque prometí dedicarlo al Señor para toda la vida. ¡Para siempre será del Señor!» Y allí adoró al Señor.

—1 Samuel 1:21-28 (RVC)

Tanto en el Antiguo como en el Nuevo Testamento podemos encontrar casos de parejas que esperaban desesperadamente tener hijos pero no lo lograban. Existen los casos bien conocidos de Abraham y Sara antes del nacimiento de Isaac (ver Génesis 21:1-6) y Zacarías e Isabel (o Elizabeth) (ver Lucas 1:5-24). En 1 Samuel tenemos otro ejemplo: el de Elcana y Ana antes del nacimiento de Samuel. Como fue el caso de los padres de Isaac y Juan, Elcana y Ana siempre habían esperado y pedido a Dios que les concediera un hijo, y esto finalmente les sucedió (ver 1 Samuel 1:19-20).

El nacimiento del primogénito era algo muy importante en el mundo antiguo. Para este niño existían ciertos derechos especiales, como una doble porción de la herencia familiar. Él también heredaría el papel de su padre como jefe de la familia al fallecer de su padre. Pero a ningún primer hijo se le ha dado mayor privilegio y significado que el propio Hijo de Dios, nuestro Señor y Salvador Jesucristo.

Esto es lo que el apóstol Pablo dice de Jesús en Colosenses 1:15-20: "Él es la imagen del Dios invisible, el primogénito de toda la creación. En él fue creado todo lo que hay en los cielos y en la tierra, todo lo visible y lo invisible; tronos, poderes, principados, o autoridades, todo fue creado por medio de él y para él. Él existía antes de todas las cosas, y por él se mantiene todo en orden. Él es la cabeza del cuerpo, que es la iglesia. Él es el principio, el primogénito de entre los muertos, para tener la preeminencia en todo, porque al Padre le agradó que en él habitara toda plenitud, y por medio de él reconciliar consigo todas las cosas, tanto las que están en la tierra como las que están en los cielos, haciendo la paz mediante la sangre de su cruz ".

Jesús, el que ha hecho todo bien.

ORACIÓN: Padre celestial, fija nuestros ojos en tu Hijo: el primero, el último, el principio y el fin. En su nombre oramos. Amén.

Paul Schreiber

Para reflexionar:

1. ¿Por qué crees que para algunas personas es un asunto tan serio el no poder tener hijos?
2. ¿Por qué era importante que Jesús naciera en este mundo?

© Copyright 2019 Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones. Que a través de estos devocionales, la Palabra de Dios te refresque en tu diario caminar.
¿Por qué crees que para algunas personas es un asunto tan serio el no poder tener hijos?

Nuestro Pan Diario - Un viejo vaso de barro

Un viejo vaso de barro

La escritura de hoy: 2 Corintios 4:7-12
La Biblia en un año: Éxodo 19–20; Mateo 18:21-35

Pero tenemos este tesoro en vasos de barro, para que la excelencia del poder sea de Dios, y no de nosotros.

—2 Corintios 4:7

A través de los años, he adquirido muchas vasijas de arcilla. Mi preferida se excavó en un sitio de la época de Abraham. ¡Es, al menos, una de las cosas en nuestra casa más vieja que yo! No tiene mucho para apreciar: manchada, agrietada y con necesidad una buena limpieza. La conservo para recordar que soy solo un hombre hecho de barro. Aunque frágil y débil, contengo un precioso tesoro: Jesús. «Tenemos este tesoro, [Jesús], en vasos de barro» (2 Corintios 4:7).

Pablo agrega: «estamos atribulados en todo, mas no angustiados; en apuros, mas no desesperados; perseguidos, mas no desamparados; derribados, pero no destruidos» (vv. 8-9). Atribulados, en apuros, perseguidos, derribados. Estas son las presiones que debe soportar el vaso. No angustiados, no desesperados, no desamparados, no destruidos. Estos son los efectos de la fuerza de resistencia de Jesús en nosotros.

«Llevando en el cuerpo siempre por todas partes la muerte de Jesús» (v. 10); actitud que puede caracterizarnos al estar dispuestos a morir día tras día al esfuerzo personal y confiar únicamente en su suficiencia en nuestra vida.

«Para que también la vida de Jesús se manifieste en nuestros cuerpos» (v. 10). Este es el resultado: la belleza de Cristo exhibida en un viejo vaso de barro.

De:  David H. Roper

Reflexiona y ora

Dios, que en mi fragilidad y debilidad, te vean a ti y tu fortaleza.

¿Cómo puedes cumplir con lo que se te requiere? ¿De dónde vienen tus fuerzas?

© 2020 Ministerios Nuestro Pan Diario
A través de los años, he adquirido muchas vasijas de arcilla. Mi preferida se excavó en un sitio de la época de Abraham.