The Daily Lectionary for TUESDAY, February 18, 2020

Psalm 119:9-16; Deuteronomy 23:21—24:4, 10-15; James 2:1-13

The Daily Lectionary

TUESDAY, February 18, 2020

(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)

Psalm 119:9-16

I delight in the law

9  How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
     By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
     do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
     that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, Lord;
     teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
     all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
     as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
     and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
     I will not neglect your word.

Deuteronomy 23:21—24:4, 10-15

Israel’s communal laws

23:21 If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. 23 Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.

24 If you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket. 25 If you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing grain.

24:1 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, 2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, 3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, 4 then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
…
10 When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into their house to get what is offered to you as a pledge. 11 Stay outside and let the neighbor to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. 12 If the neighbor is poor, do not go to sleep with their pledge in your possession. 13 Return their cloak by sunset so that your neighbor may sleep in it. Then they will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the Lord your God.

14 Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. 15 Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

James 2:1-13

The law judgment and mercy

2:1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

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, February 18, 2020
Psalm 119:9-16; Deuteronomy 23:21—24:4, 10-15; James 2:1-13

The Daily Prayer for TUESDAY, February 18, 2020

The Daily Prayer

TUESDAY, February 18, 2020

Hagar the Egyptian

When Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was unable to have a child, she gave him her Egyptian slave, Hagar, as a wife. Sarah was following ancient surrogate customs, which allowed a wife to give her maid to her husband and then claim the child as her own. But after Hagar conceived a son by Abraham, Sarah turned bitter and resentful and began to treat her harshly. Hagar’s response was to run away into the wilderness, but an angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar and urged her to return and submit to her mistress. The Lord directed Hagar to call the child Ishmael (meaning “God hears”) and, as with Abraham, promised her descendants so numerous they could not be counted. Hagar called God El-roi—“the God who sees”—and was struck with awe that she had seen him.

A reading from the book of Genesis: “Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’ And as she sat there, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is this matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’”

Thank you, Lord, that you never abandon us to our hopelessness. There is always room at your table for those who feel forgotten, or who have been cast out. Train us in such hospitality. Amen.

Verse of the Day for TUESDAY, February 18, 2020

Romans 8:38-39

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Read all of Romans 8

Listen to Romans 8

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 18 de febrero de 2020

Todo es nuevo

De cierto, de cierto os digo: El que cree en mí, tiene vida eterna.

—Juan 6:47 (RVR1960)

Si hiciste esta oración de fe, quiero que sepas que has comenzado una nueva etapa en tu vida. Empezarás a experimentar cambios, pero no temas, todos los cambios que tendrás son para bien. De repente, volverás la vista atrás y dirás: «¡Increíble, cómo he cambiado! Lo que antes me gustaba, ahora no lo disfruto». Además, muchos de esos cambios serán radicales. Cuando Jesucristo está en tu corazón, significa que tienes un Salvador. Significa que pasaste a tener la vida eterna. Entonces, cuando partas de este mundo, tendrás la seguridad de que llegarás a la presencia de Dios.

Quiero que sepas que tener a Cristo en tu corazón es una garantía de que ya no estás solo. De modo que ahora tienes a alguien que intercede por ti, se preocupa por tus necesidades y llena todo vacío que nadie podía llenar.

Dios es tu Padre y promete estar contigo aunque te abandone el tuyo.

Dios es tu Amigo fiel, pues Él nunca cambia.

Dios es tu Sanador.

Dios es tu Redentor.

¡Dios es tu TODO!

Celebra tu decisión y permite que Dios moldee tu corazón, sane tus heridas y puedas ser feliz en verdad.

Te felicito porque fuiste valiente. Yo recibí a mi Jesús hace más de trece años y te puedo dar fe y testimonio que ha sido lo mejor que me ha pasado. Le doy gracias a Dios por la persona que utilizó para mostrarme esa hermosa verdad y cambiar mi vida y la de mis hijas.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
Si hiciste esta oración de fe, quiero que sepas que has comenzado una nueva etapa en tu vida.

Standing Strong Through the Storm - Tuesday, February 18, 2020

GOD IS GOOD – ALL THE TIME

…But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

—2 Corinthians 1:9b (NIV)

Over the past three days, we have seen that we need to watch and listen diligently for God’s eternal story of deliverance. God is at work behind life’s miseries and mysteries.

Today I want to share with you a personal testimony from our Standing Strong Through the Storm (SSTS) seminars of this wonderful principle at work.

In 2004, Jim Cunningham and I were invited by our Central Asia Director to hold SSTS seminars in several countries of that needy region where persecution is often severe for the many believers from a Muslim background. The first two seminars in one country went extremely well due to young interpreters (we sometimes refer to such as “interrupters”) who were very fluent. Before we finished mentioning a scriptural reference, they would be immediately quoting it in Russian (the colonial language of the area frequently used).

The third and final seminar was to be held in a neighboring country. After significant travel challenges to arrive at the location, we were greeted by our host with the news that there was no one to translate us into the local language, so they had hired Svetlana (not her real name) who reportedly was fluent in English and Russian. They could easily understand the latter.

The three-day seminar took place at a Christian campground very suitable for such training and where accommodations were excellent and private. Many of the forty assembled believers had not met before, so the three days were filled with great fellowship, music, and worship.

But the seminar itself was a disaster! Svetlana was not a believer and not familiar with the Bible. Secondly, her English vocabulary was extremely limited. She did not understand even simple words like “grace” and “forgiveness.” We spent three frustrating days trying to explain biblical terms and principles to her and despairing that the group understood anything we had come to share. I left that event considering it had been a waste of time and effort.

In December 2010, Jim and I were back in the region working with SSTS trainers from all the five or so countries of the area. A young man approached us and said, “You don’t know me, but you know my mother, Svetlana. She was your interpreter in my country six years ago.”

I smiled sardonically. How could I ever forget Svetlana! But he continued with an almost unbelievable tale. After the SSTS seminar, his mother began reading her Russian Bible and ultimately gave her life to Jesus. Then she led her whole family to faith in Him. And now her son, standing before us, was selected to be here for training as an SSTS teacher in that particular country where I had thought our efforts were such a waste! God is good—all the time!

RESPONSE: Today I will serve God knowing that He is at work behind all life’s miseries and mysteries.

PRAYER: Lord, today I will rely on Your strength and power to accomplish Your good purposes.

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 - February 18, 2020 - His Greatest Role Yet

"His Greatest Role Yet"

Feb. 18, 2020

The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the Law and the Commandment, which I have written for their instruction." So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them." Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.

—Exodus 24:12-18 (ESV)

It's hard to imagine what this experience would have been like for Moses. All through the book of Exodus, it's plain to see how God had His hand in the events in Moses' life. His narrow escape as an infant from the murderous intent of an anxious king and then again when he was being hunted for having killed an Egyptian, God was priming him for a major role in the history of the children of Israel.

By the time he was ascending Mount Sinai, Moses had already led a remarkably full life. After taking refuge in Midian and encountering God in a burning bush there, he returned to Egypt. There he met with Pharaoh and declared on God's behalf: "Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness" (Exodus 5:1b). But Pharaoh wouldn't hear of it, and fierce plagues sent by God were soon let loose.

Even before arriving at Mount Sinai, Moses was integral to God's unfolding plan of redemption. He witnessed the first Passover, Israel's exodus east from Pharaoh's army, and the destruction of Egyptians in hot pursuit at the Red Sea. But it was at Mount Sinai where Moses must have felt he experienced God's greatest intervention: the giving of the Ten Commandments. These, now, inscribed on stone, were words to live by—words to guide God's people on their way to the Promised Land.

And immediately—in no uncertain terms—the Commandments prompted the people's response to the God who saved them. We, like them, are sinners: lost, and broken beyond repair. Here then, in this moment of grand disclosure, is Moses in his greatest role yet: the law-giver who points to Jesus: the Life-Giver.

We don't stand a chance keeping God's Law. It condemns our sin utterly. But Jesus, God's only Son, took the Law's full penalty for our sins. He fulfilled the Law, and through faith in Him as Savior gives us His victory.

"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him (Colossians 2:13-15).

THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, though we sin, there is forgiveness in Jesus. May we receive Him in faith. In His Name. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. What do you think Moses was doing on Mount Sinai for 40 days? Do you think there are things the Bible has left out from this event in Moses' life?
2. When the Bible says, "The LORD said to Moses," how do you think that occurred: an audible voice, some unmistakable sign, something else?
3. Do you know anyone today whose faith seems larger than life?

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).
What do you think Moses was doing on Mount Sinai for 40 days? Do you think there are things the Bible has left out from this event in Moses' life?

CPTLN devocional del 18 de febrero de 2020 - Su papel más importante

ALIMENTO DIARIO

Su papel más importante

18 de Febrero de 2020

El Señor le dijo a Moisés: «Sube al monte y preséntate ante mí. Espera allá, que voy a darte las tablas de piedra con la ley y los mandamientos que he escrito para instruirlos.» Moisés se levantó, junto con su siervo Josué, y entonces Moisés subió al monte de Dios. A los ancianos les dijo: «Espérennos aquí, hasta que volvamos a ustedes. Miren, Aarón y Jur se quedarán con ustedes, y quien tenga algún asunto que tratar, recurra a ellos.» Al subir Moisés al monte Sinaí, una nube lo cubrió, y la gloria del Señor se posó sobre el monte y la nube lo cubrió durante seis días. Al séptimo día, el Señor llamó a Moisés desde el centro de la nube. En la cumbre del monte la gloria del Señor tenía, a la vista de los hijos de Israel, la apariencia de un fuego abrasador. Y Moisés subió al monte y entró en la nube, y estuvo en el monte cuarenta días y cuarenta noches.

—Éxodo 24:12-18 (RVC)

Es difícil imaginar cómo habrá sido esa experiencia para Moisés. A través de todo el libro de Éxodo se puede ver claramente cómo Dios tuvo su mano en la vida de Moisés. Su escape de la intención asesina de un rey ansioso y de cuando era perseguido por haber matado a un egipcio, demuestran que Dios lo estaba preparando para un papel importante en la historia de Israel.

Cuando ascendió al Monte Sinaí, Moisés ya había llevado una vida notablemente plena. Después de refugiarse en Madián y encontrarse con Dios en una zarza ardiente, regresó a Egipto. Allí se encontró con Faraón y declaró en nombre de Dios: "Deja ir a mi pueblo, para que celebren en el desierto una fiesta en mi honor" (Éxodo 5:1b). Pero Faraón no quiso saber nada de eso, y pronto las feroces plagas enviadas por Dios cayeron sobre su pueblo.

Ya antes de llegar al Monte Sinaí, Moisés fue parte integral del plan de redención de Dios. Fue testigo de la primera Pascua, del éxodo de Israel hacia el este alejándose del ejército de Faraón y de la destrucción de los egipcios en el Mar Rojo. Pero fue en el Monte Sinaí donde Moisés debe haber sentido la mayor intervención de Dios: la entrega de los Diez Mandamientos. Inscritas en piedra, estas eran ahora palabras por las cuales vivir, palabras para guiar al pueblo de Dios en su camino hacia la Tierra Prometida.

E inmediatamente, en términos inequívocos, los Mandamientos establecieron nuestra relación ante Dios: somos pecadores perdidos y quebrantados sin remedio. Aquí, en este momento de gran revelación, está Moisés en su papel más importante: el legislador que señala a Jesús, el dador de vida.

Confrontados con la Ley de Dios no tenemos ninguna posibilidad. Ella condena por completo nuestro pecado. Pero Jesús, el Hijo único de Dios, recibió el castigo total de la Ley por nuestros pecados y, por fe en él como Salvador, nos da su victoria.

"Antes, ustedes estaban muertos en sus pecados; aún no se habían despojado de su naturaleza pecaminosa. Pero ahora, Dios les ha dado vida juntamente con él, y les ha perdonado todos sus pecados. Ha anulado el acta de los decretos que había contra nosotros y que nos era adversa; la quitó de en medio y la clavó en la cruz. Desarmó además a los poderes y las potestades, y los exhibió públicamente al triunfar sobre ellos en la cruz" (Colosenses 2:13-15).

ORACIÓN: Padre celestial, a pesar de que pecamos, tenemos perdón en Jesús. Ayúdanos a recibirlo en fe. En su Nombre. Amén.

Paul Schreiber

Para reflexionar:

1. ¿Qué crees que hizo Moisés durante esos 40 días que estuvo en el monte Sinaí?
2. ¿Conoces a alguien cuya fe parece ser increíble?

© Copyright 2019 Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones. Que a través de estos devocionales, la Palabra de Dios te refresque en tu diario caminar.
¿Qué crees que hizo Moisés durante esos 40 días que estuvo en el monte Sinaí?

Nuestro Pan Diario - Inimaginable

Inimaginable

La escritura de hoy: Salmo 23
La Biblia en un año: Levítico 23–24; Marcos 1:1-22

Aunque ande en valle de sombra de muerte, no temeré mal alguno, porque tú estarás conmigo…

—Salmo 23:4

Bart Millard escribió un gran éxito musical cuando compuso Si solo pudiera imaginar. La canción describe lo asombroso que será estar en la presencia de Cristo. Su letra fue de consuelo para nuestra familia al año siguiente, cuando nuestra hija Melissa, de 17 años, murió en un accidente automovilístico, y nos imaginábamos lo que era para ella estar en la presencia de Dios.

Pero en los días después de la muerte de Mel, imaginar cobró otro sentido. Cuando los padres de amigos de mi hija se acercaban, preocupados y dolidos, decían: «No puedo imaginar lo que estás atravesando».

Sus útiles expresiones de empatía mostraban su lucha ante nuestra pérdida, la cual consideraban inimaginable.

David señaló la profundidad de una gran pérdida al describirla como andar por un «valle de sombra» (Salmo 23:4). La muerte de un ser amado es exactamente eso, y a veces, no sabemos cómo vamos a navegar en esa oscuridad; aun si siquiera podremos salir de allí.

Pero como Dios prometió estar con nosotros en ese valle ahora, también nos ofrece gran esperanza para el futuro, al asegurarnos que, luego, estaremos en su presencia. Para los creyentes, estar «ausentes del cuerpo» significa estar presentes con Él (2 Corintios 5:8). Esto nos ayuda a recorrer lo inimaginable.

De:  Dave Branon

Reflexiona y ora

Dios, gracias por acompañarnos en los valles más oscuros.

¿Qué es lo mejor que puedes decirle a amigos que han perdido a un ser amado? ¿Cómo puedes prepararte para esos momentos?

© 2020 Ministerios Nuestro Pan Diario
Bart Millard escribió un gran éxito musical cuando compuso Si solo pudiera imaginar.