The Daily Lectionary for THURSDAY, March 12, 2020

Psalm 95; Exodus 16:1-8; Colossians 1:15-23

The Daily Lectionary

THURSDAY, March 12, 2020

(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)

Psalm 95

The rock of our salvation

1  Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
     let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2  Let us come before him with thanksgiving
     and extol him with music and song.

3  For the Lord is the great God,
     the great King above all gods.
4  In his hand are the depths of the earth,
     and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5  The sea is his, for he made it,
     and his hands formed the dry land.

6  Come, let us bow down in worship,
     let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7  for he is our God
     and we are the people of his pasture,
     the flock under his care.

   Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8  “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
     as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,
9  where your ancestors tested me;
     they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;
     I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
     and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
     ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

Exodus 16:1-8

Israel complains of hunger in the wilderness

16:1 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”

Colossians 1:15-23

Christ the reconciliation of all things

1:15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

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 THURSDAY, March 12, 2020
Psalm 95; Exodus 16:1-8; Colossians 1:15-23

The Daily Prayer for THURSDAY, March 12, 2020

The Daily Prayer

THURSDAY, March 12, 2020

Maximilian of Thavaste (d. 295)

Maximilian, the son of a Roman soldier in present-day Algeria, was required to join the army at the age of twenty-one. Before the court of the Roman proconsul Dion, Maximilian testified, “I cannot enlist for I am a Christian. I cannot serve, I cannot do evil.” Because of his refusal he was beheaded.

Also noteworthy: this is the day that Jesuit priest Rutilio Grande was murdered in El Salvador, a pivotal moment in Salvadoran history and for the witness of the church in Latin America.

Maximilian of Thavaste said, “You can cut off my head, but I will not be a soldier of this world, for I am a soldier of Christ.”

Lord, help us examine ourselves and see if we are willing to give all for you. Search our hearts and convict us where there is still fear, self-preoccupation, and lack of trust. Amen.

Verse of the Day for THURSDAY, March 12, 2020

2 Peter 1:4

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Read all of 2 Peter 1

Listen to 2 Peter 1

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

The Lenten Prayer for THURSDAY, March 12, 2020 - Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

40 Days of Lenten Prayers

Day 14 - Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

Loving God,

I hear your invitation, "Come back to me"

and I am filled with such a longing to return to you.

Show me the way to return.

Lead me this day in good works I do in your name

and send your Spirit to guide me and strengthen my faith.

I ask only to feel your love in my life today.

Amen.

Un dia a la Vez - Jueves 12 de marzo de 2020

¡Feliz!

Tu amor me ha alegrado y animado mucho porque has reconfortado el corazón de los santos.

— Filemón 1:7 (NVI)

Hoy deseo para ti y todos los tuyos un día muy especial. ¿Recuerdas cuándo fue la última vez que salieron de tu boca palabras de afirmación por alguien o cuándo le dijiste a esa persona que tanto amas que te equivocaste?

A veces no es solo una palabra tuya la que le dará felicidad. También lo hará una sonrisa a tu esposa, a tus hijos o a tus compañeros de trabajo.

Ya sabes lo significativo que es dar un abrazo al que hoy se siente solo o triste.

Da de lo mucho que tienes. No te conformes con ser feliz tú solo.

Extiende tu felicidad a otros y muéstrales ese Dios vivo que está en ti.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
Hoy deseo para ti y todos los tuyos un día muy especial.

Standing Strong Through the Storm - Thursday, March 12, 2020

CHOOSE TO FOLLOW JESUS

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

— Mark 8:34 (NIV)

They stood out like lighthouse beacons. We spotted them while walking through the tables of artisan wares in old Havana. Two oil painting portraits side-by-side propped in front of the table. Portraits of two famous revolutionaries: Che Guevarra and Jesus Christ.

The Cuban people are well acquainted with Che. The Argentina-born socialist revolutionary joined Fidel Castro in the Cuban revolution of 1959. Fidel made him Minister of the Interior for the first five years. Then Che disappeared only to surface in Bolivia where he was captured and executed. Cuba has made him out to be a martyr for the revolution. His face and sayings are even more widespread in the country than Fidel’s.

Jesus is also becoming well-known in Cuba due to revival that has swept the island since the late 1980s.

These two portraits depict the major choices for most people today. One revolutionary says, “Follow me and I will make you a liberator of men—teach them how to fight!” The other says, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men—teach them how to really live!”

One revolutionary says, “Follow me and USE your life for the sake of the revolution!” The other says, “Follow me and LOSE your life for my sake and the gospel’s (and you will find it)!”

The one says “Follow me and we will build a utopia on earth!” Jesus says, “Follow me and we will build the kingdom of God on earth (and the world will be a better place)!”

Those who have chosen to follow Jesus in Cuba are making a significant impact for the Lord. I met a twenty-three-year-old Cuban young lady who is a committed follower of Jesus. She ministers to four churches in the mountains where no male graduate from the seminary is willing to serve. The one mountain-top church we visited with her required forty-seven crossings of the winding mountain river in climbing the eight kilometers distance. In the rainy season, the mud is up to her knees.

I asked her what the last message was she had shared with believers. She replied, “Take up your cross and follow me!”

We also saw a young male evangelist en route to a meeting point which would take him seven hours to walk. That’s commitment!

Today Jesus is also calling you and me to truly follow Him. It may mean leaving behind our favorite time-waster and our comfort zones. But Jesus promises his personal presence and his abundant blessing. It’s an adventure like no other. If you listen carefully, you can hear his voice right where you are at this moment. He’s saying, “Follow me!”

RESPONSE: Today I choose to follow Jesus, regardless of the cost.

PRAYER: Lord, may Your call on my life ever draw me closer to You and Your kingdom.

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

Men's Devotional Bible - Thursday, March 12, 2020

Finish Lines

John 19:28–37
Recommended Reading: 2 Samuel 22:32—23:5; Colossians 2:6–15; 2 Timothy 4:1–8; Hebrews 12:1–2

Climb inside the mind of a marathon runner. Listen to his thoughts.

You’ve run this race countless times in your mind and hundreds of times in practice. But none of those resemble the real thing. The course takes you cross-country, and the running surface changes constantly. You could stumble at any step. Every change in terrain brings new challenges. Each race offers a different combination of obstacles and difficulties. And even though there are people at the roadside water stations to refresh your body, and crowds of individuals standing by to revive your spirit with their encouragement, it’s still just you out there—you, your two legs and your two feet. No matter which race you’re running, all of them have at least two things in common: the pain and the finish line.

Ah, the finish line! It makes all the pain bearable. Sometimes you forget the idea of winning the race in your all-consuming effort just to reach the finish line. You face the challenge and embrace the pain of running for over 26 miles, and a surge of joy fills your heart as you see the tape stretched across the journey’s end. Every last ounce of strength drives you across the finish line.

Jesus understood that intense drive to finish. With one of his last breaths, he cried out, “It is finished!” In the language of the New Testament, that’s a one-word exclamation: “Done!”

Jesus had joined the human race for a very special and specific reason—to finish God’s plan to provide forgiveness, salvation and eternal life for a fallen humanity. When Jesus shouted “Finished!” he was declaring that he had endured the judgment of sin on behalf of all humankind. He’d crossed the finish line for each of us. And in order to finish, he had to seal the arrangement with his life.

The cross represented the last hours in a long race marked out for Jesus. Even though he knew exactly how the race would end—with his sacrificial death—he still ran. Even though he had his disciples around him to provide companionship and support, not one of them knew exactly what he was going through in his final hours. Jesus knew that he’d experience excruciating pain. He knew that many would never accept his sacrifice, but he also knew that many would, and for us, he ran. And finished. For this, we’ll spend eternity in grateful appreciation.

To Take Away

• Do you see your life as a race? Why? How would you describe your progress so far?
• When you think of Jesus dying on your behalf on the cross, how does it make you feel? What effect does this reality have on your daily life?
• How can Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross motivate you to run the race God sets out before you?

You’ve run this race countless times in your mind and hundreds of times in practice.

LHM Daily Devotions - March 12, 2020 - GETTING IT WRONG

"GETTING IT WRONG"

March 12, 2020

And He (Jesus) began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He said this plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

— Mark 8:31-33 (ESV)

Ouch! That must have hurt, having your Lord and Master call you "Satan" and rebuke you for having your mind set on human things instead of God's. And yet Jesus was right. Satan was acting through Peter at that moment—trying to turn Jesus aside from the path God wanted Him to walk, the path to the cross.

Peter had gotten the first part of the test right—he answered the question "Who do you say that I am?" with "The Christ, the Son of the Living God." But he completely missed the second, implicit question, "What am I here to do?" And he wouldn't figure it out until well after Jesus completed His mission—until Jesus indeed suffered, died, was buried, and rose from the dead. Then Peter finally got it.

I am so very, very glad that Jesus didn't listen to the devil speaking through Peter. The devil's aim was to keep us all in slavery, to prevent Jesus from setting us free to be children of God living in God's kingdom. But Jesus wasn't going to have that. He came to give us freedom, to give us life—and that abundantly.

Jesus is human as well as divine. It couldn't have been easy for Him to walk around knowing the precise pattern of His death so far ahead of time. It couldn't have been easy to set His face toward Jerusalem, knowing what waited for Him there. And yet He did it. He did it because of the prize, the joy set before Him—because of you and me. His suffering and death would mean our everlasting life. His resurrection would be our joy and happiness forever. In His eyes, it was worth it.

You were worth it.

THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me enough to bear the cross to set me free. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. How would you feel if you could know the exact details of your death ahead of time?
2. Have you ever had to bear pain in order to help someone else? When?
3. How did you feel about the pain you bore for that person? Do you think Jesus felt similarly about the pain He bore for you?

Lenten Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo. Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
How would you feel if you could know the exact details of your death ahead of time?

Devocional CPTLN del 12 de marzo de 2020 - Entendiendo mal

ALIMENTO DIARIO

Entendiendo mal

12 de Marzo de 2020

Jesús comenzó entonces a enseñarles que era necesario que el Hijo del Hombre sufriera mucho y fuera desechado por los ancianos... y que tenía que morir y resucitar después de tres días... Pero Pedro lo llevó aparte y comenzó a reconvenirlo. Entonces Jesús se volvió a ver a los discípulos, y reprendió a Pedro. Le dijo: "¡Aléjate de mi vista, Satanás! ¡Tú no piensas en las cosas de Dios sino en cuestiones humanas!"

— Marcos 8:31-33 (RVC)

¡Ay! Eso debe haber dolido, que tu Señor te llame "Satanás" y te reprenda por tener tu mente puesta en las cosas humanas en lugar de las de Dios. Pero Jesús tenía razón. Satanás estaba obrando a través de Pedro en ese momento, tratando de desviar a Jesús del camino que Dios quería que él recorriera, el camino a la cruz.

Pedro había respondido bien la primera parte de la prueba, respondió a la pregunta: "¿Quién dicen que soy?" con "Tú eres el Cristo." Pero se perdió por completo la segunda pregunta implícita: "¿Para qué estoy aquí?" Y no lo entendería hasta mucho después de que Jesús completara su misión de sufrir, morir, ser sepultado y resucitar de entre los muertos.

¡Qué bueno que Jesús no haya escuchado al diablo que habló a través de Pedro! El objetivo del diablo era mantenernos a todos en la esclavitud, evitando que Jesús nos liberara para ser hijos de Dios y vivir en su reino. ¡Qué bueno que Jesús tenía en claro que había venido para darnos libertad y vida abundante!

Jesús es humano y divino. No fue fácil para él caminar conociendo el patrón preciso de su muerte con tanta anticipación. No fue fácil para él ir a Jerusalén, sabiendo lo que allí le esperaba. Y aún así lo hizo. Lo hizo por la recompensa, la alegría puesta delante de él, por ti y por mí. Su sufrimiento y muerte significan nuestra vida eterna. Su resurrección es nuestra alegría y felicidad para siempre. Para él, valió la pena.

ORACIÓN: Señor Jesús, gracias por amarme tanto como para llevar la cruz y liberarme. Amén.

Dra. Kari Vo

Para reflexionar:

1. ¿Alguna vez has sufrido por ayudar a alguien? ¿En qué circunstancias?
2. ¿Qué sentiste por esa persona? ¿Crees que Jesús sintió lo mismo por ti?

© Copyright 2020 Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones. Que a través de estos devocionales, la Palabra de Dios te refresque en tu diario caminar.
¿Alguna vez has sufrido por ayudar a alguien? ¿En qué circunstancias?

Хлеб наш насущный - Любая возможность

Любая возможность

Читать сейчас: Колоссянам 4:2-6 | Библия за год: Второзаконие 17-19; Марка 13:1-20

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С внешними обходитесь благоразумно, пользуясь временем. — Колоссянам 4:5

Вы когда-нибудь ловили покемона? Я нет, пока сын не убедил меня скачать на телефон одну увлекательную игру. В ней создается виртуальная карта, отражающая реальный мир, но с разноцветными существами, которых можно ловить.

В отличие от большинства мобильных игр, эта требует подвижности. Любое место в реальном мире становится частью игрового поля. Результат? Я стал намного больше двигаться. Играя с сыном, мы используем любую возможность, чтобы поймать существ вокруг нас. Легко «стать помешанным» на игре, созданной, чтобы затягивать пользователей. Но когда я играл, мне не давал покоя вопрос: «Настолько ли я целеустремлен в использовании окружающих меня духовных возможностей?»

Павел сознавал, как важно видеть Божий труд в окружающем мире. В главе 4 Послания к колоссянам он просит молиться о возможностях проповедовать Евангелие (Кол. 4:3). А затем призывает: «С внешними обходитесь благоразумно, пользуясь временем» (ст. 5). Он хотел, чтобы колоссяне не упускали ни единой возможности привлечь окружающих ко Христу. Но для этого нужно по-настоящему видеть их и их нужды, а затем вовлекаться и действовать «с благодатью» (ст. 6).

В сегодняшнем мире нашего внимания и времени требуют более важные дела, чем ловля виртуальных покемонов. А Бог призывает нас, совершая путешествие по реальной жизни, каждый день искать возможности указывать людям на Него.

Когда Бог необычным образом использовал кого-то, чтобы углубить ваши отношения с Ним? Когда Он использовал вас, чтобы в обычный на первый взгляд день повлиять на чью-то жизнь?

Господь, помоги мне использовать любую возможность, чтобы показывать Твою любовь и благодать.

автор: Адам Хольц

© 2020 Хлеб Наш Насущный
Вы когда-нибудь ловили покемона?