The Daily Lectionary for SATURDAY, February 15, 2020

Psalm 119:1-8; Deuteronomy 30:1-9a; Matthew 15:1-9

The Daily Lectionary

SATURDAY, February 15, 2020

(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)

Psalm 119:1-8

Happy are those who walk in the law

1  Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
     who walk according to the law of the Lord.
2  Blessed are those who keep his statutes
     and seek him with all their heart—
3  they do no wrong
     but follow his ways.
4  You have laid down precepts
     that are to be fully obeyed.
5  Oh, that my ways were steadfast
     in obeying your decrees!
6  Then I would not be put to shame
     when I consider all your commands.
7  I will praise you with an upright heart
     as I learn your righteous laws.
8  I will obey your decrees;
     do not utterly forsake me.

Deuteronomy 30:1-9a

God’s fidelity assured

30:1 When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, 2 and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. 4 Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. 5 He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. 6 The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. 7 The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. 8 You will again obey the Lord and follow all his commands I am giving you today. 9a Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land.

Matthew 15:1-9

God’s commandments and religious tradition

15:1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

8  “‘These people honor me with their lips,
     but their hearts are far from me.
9  They worship me in vain;
     their teachings are merely human rules.’”

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 SATURDAY, February 15, 2020
Psalm 119:1-8; Deuteronomy 30:1-9a; Matthew 15:1-9

The Daily Prayer for SATURDAY, February 15, 2020

The Daily Prayer

SATURDAY, February 15, 2020

Basil of Caesarea, a fourth-century monk and bishop, wrote, “I cannot persuade myself that without love to others, and without, as far as rests with me, peaceableness towards all, I can be called a worthy servant of Jesus Christ.”

Lord, reconcile us to you anew each morning so that we might know what a fearful and wonderful thing it is to be reconciled to one another. Amen.

Verse of the Day for SATURDAY, February 15, 2020

1 John 4:10

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Read all of 1 John 4

Listen to 1 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 - Sábado 15 de febrero de 2020

Oración por protección

En paz me acuesto y me duermo, porque solo tú, Señor, me haces vivir confiado.

—Salmo 4:8 (NVI)

Dios mío, Padre mío… solo tú me haces vivir confiado. A esta hora levanto mi oración para pedirte que me protejas de todo mal y peligro.

Ahora soy consciente de que el enemigo quiere destruirme, quiere aprovecharse de mi debilidad y quiere robarme la felicidad.

Te pido, Dios mío, que me ayudes a reconocerte cada día en mis caminos y me llenes de tu amor y de tu gozo.

Te suplico, Padre eterno, que guardes a mis hijos y a mi familia. Que guardes mi negocio, mi economía y mi trabajo, pero sobre todo que guardes mi integridad y mi testimonio.

Envía tus ángeles a mi alrededor, a mi casa y a mi auto. Dame un resto del día muy feliz.

Amén y amén.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
Dios mío, Padre mío… solo tú me haces vivir confiado. A esta hora levanto mi oración para pedirte que me protejas de todo mal y peligro.…

Standing Strong Through the Storm - Saturday, February 15, 2020

WHEN LIFE STINKS, OUR PERSPECTIVE SHRINKS

The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land…”

—Exodus 3:7-8 (NIV)

God’s chosen people were enslaved in miserable bondage and were crying out to Him in their suffering. God speaks to Moses about it at the burning bush and reveals His sustaining care for His people.

First of all, they were in Egypt because God cared for them. He rescued the Israeli nation from death by famine during the time of Joseph who himself was rescued from injustice and suffering to bring a solution to the coming famine crisis. This saved both the Israeli and the Egyptian nations. But a Pharaoh came along in time who did not know about Joseph and chose to persecute the growing Israeli population because of his fear of them.

In this situation, they were not forgotten by the God of their fathers. Though for a wise reason, He delayed appearing in their behalf for several hundred years, yet He was not indifferent to their sufferings. Every tear they shed was preserved and every groan they uttered was recorded as a testimony against their oppressors. Only God sees the beginning from the end. We are time-bound creatures and as problems arise, our perspective becomes diminished. African-American preachers articulate it this way: “When life stinks, our perspective shrinks!”

Years earlier God spoke to Father Abram in his sleep: “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there…In the fourth generation, your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure” (Genesis 15:13, 16). In this situation, God reveals His plan to Abram ahead of time and explains the “why.” He does not always do this, but from this example, we learn we can trust His Father-heart.

So today we pray for persecuted church members who are suffering severely from Satan’s tactics of deceit and intimidation: loss of family members (Nigeria), economic deprivation (India), incarceration in metal shipping containers (Eritrea), lack of personal peace (Pakistan), fear of discovery (Middle East). As we pray, we can rest in the fact that they (and we) are part of God’s wise and caring plan, no matter how inscrutable that plan may appear to human eyes. There is hope because He hears the cry; He sees the misery; He is concerned about the suffering. When it seems dark and hopeless, the persecuted testify “God is good—all the time!”

RESPONSE: I will live in the light of God’s loving care and view my problems from His perspective.

PRAYER: Pray that persecuted believers will trust God and not suffer from shrunken perspectives.

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 - Saturday, February 15, 2020

When Excuses Won’t Do

Judges 6:1–27

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

—Judges 6:15 (NIV)

Isn’t God amazing? Throughout the Bible, he patiently works with complainers, self-doubters, and rebels. And not only that, but God also works his plan through truly weak people, like Gideon—or like a man and woman in marriage.

Gideon had good reason to fear an assignment from God to deliver the children of Israel from the oppression of the Midianites. His faith and his clan were weak, and the Israelites were mixing Baal worship with God worship. Even just talking to the Lord must have struck fear in Gideon’s heart: Didn’t he also deserve to be punished for failing to worship God with his whole heart?

Gideon thought his conversation with God was all about him. But, as we find out, Gideon came to realize he was just a player in God’s story, and God was the One with the power to save Israel. God patiently worked with Gideon to remove his doubts and to make him aware that God alone was his strength, telling him in verse 16, “I will be with you.”

So how do we complainers, self-doubters and rebels respond when we encounter God’s assignments in our married life? The first challenge is that there are two of us for God to deal with. Since God established the marriage covenant, he’s not inclined to undermine it by leading a husband and wife in different directions.

When my husband Grey and I were ending a one-year overseas mission assignment, the director of the mission agency challenged us to return as career workers. Grey was game, but I was unwilling to commit because I didn’t want to take on the challenge of raising financial support. We had funded one year of mission work with our own savings, but relying on God to lead people to support us caused me great anxiety.

While Grey stayed steady in his commitment to return to the mission field, I, like Gideon, whined about it and then asked God for a sign. When the first sign came (I encouraged Grey to look for a job in the United States, but all those career doors closed), I asked for another sign. Gideon-like, I was setting up my own fleece experiments.

This time God’s response was unmistakable. People started giving to us. Check after check finally brought me to the conclusion that God wanted to use us, ordinary people, to do his work overseas. We were nothing special, but raising support went well. We went back to the field for nine more years.

Gideon’s story, and the whole Bible, is full of principles we can apply to our lives today. Each day of marriage we can recall God’s blessings to us, be assured that he is with us—even in our weaknesses—and believe that he has work for us to do.

Mary Ann Jeffreys

Let’s Talk

• What are some methods God uses to lead our decision making in marriage?
• How do we distinguish God’s leading from our own desires and goals?
• When we sense God leading each of us in different directions, how can we come to an agreement?

Throughout the Bible God patiently works with complainers, self-doubters, and rebels.

LHM Daily Devotions February 15, 2020 - The Blessed Trinity

"The Blessed Trinity"

Feb. 15, 2020

Now the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him they worshiped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

—Matthew 28:16-20 (ESV)

With Christ's clear command dominating their minds, the first followers of Christ were like a tiny spark that ignites a forest fire. As obedient foot soldiers of the Gospel, they went out proclaiming the spark of Christ's command in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

For centuries, philosophers and theologians have been trying to figure out the Trinity. These attempts however have always been futile. After setting forth the biblical understanding of the Trinity exhaustively and from every conceivable point of view, the Athanasian Creed, one of the oldest Christ-centered confessions of the Christian faith, closes by affirming, "This is the faith which except a man believe faithfully and firmly he cannot be saved."

I beg you today, don't take the Name of the Trinity lightly! Therefore, the apostle Peter warns "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Knowing, therefore, the devil is near you hoping to take your eyes of faith off the Trinity, you must be prepared.

So when you are tempted to embrace a religion or a faith that promotes or even permits any faith other than the Trinitarian Confession of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then say like Jesus did, "Get behind me, Satan! Get away from me." On your own, you cannot stave off the devil. But the Good News is this: God will help you. He will empower you through His Word and Spirit.

Each morning as you rise, do as the early Christians did and begin your day by making the sign of the cross and saying, "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Then, in the Name of the Trinity, ask God for protection for the day. And thank Him for all His blessings, and pray the God of the Bible—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—will guard and keep you and your family throughout the day.

Your Heavenly Father loves you in spite of your many failings. The Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is now interceding on your behalf at the throne of God, every time you stumble and fall. The Holy Spirit of the blessed Trinity is at your side convicting you of your sin but then also assuring you that every last one of your sins has been totally forgiven. He, the Spirit, then also plants deep into your heart God's gift of faith and hope.

THE PRAYER: Dear Holy Trinity, to You, all Christians—and unbelievers—will bend their knee on the Day of Judgment. We worship You as one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity, always giving You all glory forever and ever. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. Do you feel like you understand the nature of the Trinity? Can you explain it to someone else?
2. On numerous occasions, Jesus meets with His disciples on a mountain. Why do you think that is?
3. Do you study any Bible-related texts to increase your knowledge of the Scriptures?

This Daily Devotion was excerpted from the sermon, "God's Mystery is God's Blessing," by Rev. Dr. Wallace Schulz, former Speaker for The Lutheran Hour. Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
Do you feel like you understand the nature of the Trinity? Can you explain it to someone else?

Хліб Наш Насущній - Польова миша

Польова миша

Читати: Матвія 4:1-11 | Біблія за рік: Левит 17–18 ; Матвія 27:27-50

Завантажити MP3

Більший-бо Той, Хто в вас, аніж той, хто в світі.

—1 Івана 4:4

Декілька років тому я разом з синами кілька днів таборував у пустелі Селуей-Біттеррут на півночі штату Айдахо. Там водяться ведмеді, але ми взяли з собою спеціальний спрей, тримали табір у чистоті і не чекали серйозних сутичок з тваринами.

Одного разу посеред ночі я почув, як Ренді намагався вилізти зі спального мішка. Я схопив та увімкнув ліхтар, очікуючи побачити сина у лапах розлютованого ведмедя.

Проте там сиділа на задніх лапках і розмахувала передніми польова миша висотою близько десяти сантиметрів. В зубах вона стискала його кепку. Маленьке створіння знов і знов тягнуло кепку Ренді, допоки не стягнуло з його голови. Я розсміявся, а миша, кинувши кепку, стрімголов побігла. Ми знову заповзли у спальні мішки. Однак я, відчувши прилив адреналіну, не міг заснути і думав про іншого хижака – диявола.

Згадайте спокушання Ісуса сатаною (Мт. 4:1-11). На всі спокуси Господь відповідав словами з Писання. З кожною відповіддю Ісус нагадував Собі про Божі слова, і тому Він не міг ослухатися Свого Отця. Це спонукало диявола втекти.

Хоч сатана і хоче нас пожерти, важливо пам’ятати, що він просто створіння, як і маленький гризун. Апостол Іван сказав: “Більший-бо Той, Хто в вас, аніж той, хто в світі” (1 Ів. 4:4).

Що вас спокушає найбільше? Що Бог каже про це, і як ви можете використовувати Його слова під час спокуси?

Дорогий Боже, я вдячний, що Ти сильніший за будь-яку спокусу, з якою я стикаюсь. Будь ласка, покажи мені шлях до перемоги.

Автор Давид Роупер

© 2020 Хліб Наш Насущні
Декілька років тому я разом з синами кілька днів таборував у пустелі Селуей-Біттеррут на півночі штату Айдахо.…