The Daily Lectionary for TUESDAY, March 24, 2020

Psalm 146; Isaiah 42:14-21; Colossians 1:9-14

The Daily Lectionary

TUESDAY, March 24, 2020

(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)

Psalm 146

God opens the eyes of the blind

1  Praise the Lord.

   Praise the Lord, my soul.

2  I will praise the Lord all my life;
     I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3  Do not put your trust in princes,
     in human beings, who cannot save.
4  When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
     on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5  Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
     whose hope is in the Lord their God.

6  He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
     the sea, and everything in them—
     he remains faithful forever.
7  He upholds the cause of the oppressed
     and gives food to the hungry.
   The Lord sets prisoners free,
8    the Lord gives sight to the blind,
   the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
     the Lord loves the righteous.
9  The Lord watches over the foreigner
     and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
     but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 The Lord reigns forever,
     your God, O Zion, for all generations.

   Praise the Lord.

Isaiah 42:14-21

God will heal the blind

14 “For a long time I have kept silent,
     I have been quiet and held myself back.
   But now, like a woman in childbirth,
     I cry out, I gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills
     and dry up all their vegetation;
   I will turn rivers into islands
     and dry up the pools.
16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
     along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
   I will turn the darkness into light before them
     and make the rough places smooth.
   These are the things I will do;
     I will not forsake them.
17 But those who trust in idols,
     who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’
     will be turned back in utter shame.

18 “Hear, you deaf;
     look, you blind, and see!
19 Who is blind but my servant,
     and deaf like the messenger I send?
   Who is blind like the one in covenant with me,
     blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
     your ears are open, but you do not listen.”
21 It pleased the Lord
     for the sake of his righteousness
     to make his law great and glorious.

Colossians 1:9-14

The inheritance of the saints in light

1:9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

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, March 24, 2020
Psalm 146; Isaiah 42:14-21; Colossians 1:9-14

The Daily Prayer for TUESDAY, March 24, 2020

The Daily Prayer

TUESDAY, March 24, 2020

Oscar Romero (1917—1980)

Although he began as a conservative archbishop, opposed to the progressive liberation theology that was popular among those seeking to help poor farmers in El Salvador, Oscar Romero was deeply impacted when his friend, a priest, was assassinated as a result of commitment to social justice. Through weekly homilies on national radio, Romero advocated an end to the repression of the people in El Salvador, thus making himself an enemy of the government and the military. He was not successful in ending the violence: more than seventy-five thousand Salvadorans would eventually be killed, one million would leave the country, and another million would be left homeless. Because of his prophetic witness, Romero became a target of assassination. As he was saying Mass on March 24, 1980, he was shot and killed. “A bishop will die,” Romero had said, foreseeing his own fate, “but the church of God—the people—will not perish.”

Oscar Romero wrote, “It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view. The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts: it is beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is the Lord’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us. No sermon says all that should be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything. That is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted knowing they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that affects far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very, very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the Master Builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future that is not our own.”

Lord, we know the world will kill your prophets. Nevertheless, give us words to convict, to heal, to raise up others for justice, and to offer forgiveness for those who harm us. Amen.

Verse of the Day for TUESDAY, March 24, 2020

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Read all of Romans 6

Listen to Romans 6

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 TUESDAY, March 24, 2020 - Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

40 Days of Lenten Prayers

Day 24 - Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Joyful praise in Lent?

I'm not sure I always feel that.

I ask you to help me prepare to understand

and embrace the paschal mystery in my life.

I don't always see the beauty and mystery

of this season

and often I run from the pain.

Help me to see how your saving grace

and your loving touch in my life

can fill me with joyful praise of the salvation

you have sent to me.

Amen.

Un dia a la Vez - Martes 24 de marzo de 2020

Que la crítica no te desenfoque

El Señor afirma los pasos del hombre cuando le agrada su modo de vivir; podrá tropezar, pero no caerá, porque el Señor lo sostiene de la mano.

— Salmo 37:23-24 (NVI)

Hoy vamos a ver la otra parte, la crítica que no te deja vivir, que no te deja tomar decisiones importantes por pensar en el que dirán. En cosas que dejamos de hacer para que no nos critiquen.

Si te identificas con esta breve introducción, quiero que sepas que el más criticado y el más señalado fue Jesús.

Nosotros debemos entender que siempre existirá la acción de la crítica, pues muchas personas te pueden criticar por envidia. La crítica bien manejada puede ser constructiva y te puede ayudar a corregir cosas en las que tal vez estés fallando.

No obstante, nuestra vida no puede estar solo pendiente de a quién le gusta o quién le parece lo que hacemos o dejamos de hacer.

A veces necesitamos que nos aprueben y la crítica es casi un estilo de vida.

Mi consejo en este día está dividido en dos:

1. La crítica constructiva es importante para evaluar lo que estamos haciendo y no debemos despreciarla. Y, como dice la Palabra de Dios, de lo que te digan saca lo bueno y desecha lo malo: «Examinadlo todo; retened lo bueno» (1 Tesalonicenses 5:21, RV-60).

2. No vivas del que dirán, y esto se ajusta a cualquiera que sea tu ocupación. Recuerda que nunca le caeremos bien a todo el mundo y que a todas las personas no les gustará lo que hacemos en la vida.

Por lo tanto, enfócate en hacer lo que Dios te aprueba y no te desenfoques.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
Hoy vamos a ver la otra parte, la crítica que no te deja vivir, que no te deja tomar decisiones importantes por pensar en el que dirán.

Standing Strong Through the Storm - Tuesday, March 24, 2020

ANGELIC STRENGTHENING: THE GARDEN

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.

— Luke 22:43 (NIV)

Today’s devotional comes from a Chinese house church pastor who was arrested and held for three weeks just prior to this talk. He says his experience was going with Christ to the Garden and to the Cross. Today he explains The Garden:

My arrest was totally unexpected. There was no warning. I was teaching a seminar in one of our church groups in northeast China when in the middle of the afternoon, six policemen burst in and the next thing I knew I was punched in the stomach and lying on the floor. One of the policemen put his foot hard on my neck and I couldn’t move. I was then allowed to get up. Someone rammed me in the kidneys with a baton and I fell again, gasping from the pain. The pain was sharp and severe all the way to the police station, and I couldn’t take anything but the shallowest breaths. It turned out my digestion was ruined for months.

Although it was unexpected, there was a strange way in which I had been prepared for it. The night before, I was praying at midnight for the seminar. I had a list of all the participants, and was praying for each one. The more I prayed, the more discouraged I became. These men and women were too young, or too uneducated, or too wounded. I just felt that they were not good enough to be leaders in our movement. I slumped and sighed and felt very depressed. Also, I was having a bad stomach ache. For weeks my stomach was sore and nausea had been my constant companion.

Then all of a sudden I felt a depression on the sofa like someone had entered the room and sat down beside me. I opened my eyes. There was no one there, but the depression on the sofa remained. Then I felt a large hand on my back. It was hot and pressed into my lower spine, straightening me up. I felt strong again and my nausea disappeared. Then a soft voice said, “I am strengthening you for the fight. Do not worry about these young people. I am the strength of God, sent by Jesus to look after them and you. I will help you because He loves you.”

That was an angel. I am convinced of that. Just as the Scripture says of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength” (Luke 22:43), so it was for me. Angels appear to give us strength. And so all the time I was being taken to the police station in a cramped van, I was repeating the words of the angel to me, “I will help you because He loves you.”

So I want to make this clear to you all. Whenever you face the challenge of suffering for Christ, you will be angelically strengthened beforehand. You need to keep praying, because that’s when the angel comes. But if you pray, you will be ready, because an angel will be there to strengthen you to bear anything.

RESPONSE: Today I will continue to pray and trust God for His angelic strengthening.

PRAYER: Thank You, God, for Your angelic host who come to strengthen in our greatest point of need.

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 March 24, 2020 - WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST?

"WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST?"

March 24, 2020

Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in Him (Jesus), but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

— John 12:42-43, ESV

Some years ago, I was talking to a lady about driving refugees to church. "I believe God is telling me to do it," she said. "It's like I can hear Him." And then what she said took my breath away. "But I'm not going to do it," she said with a smile. "I just decided I don't want to." And she walked away.

My jaw hit the floor. Fool that I am, it had never occurred to me that someone would hear God calling—a Christian, even!—and just blithely tell Him "No" and walk away. How does that even happen? I'm still flabbergasted, years later.

And yet, that's exactly what the priests and scribes and leaders in this Bible reading chose to do. They recognized Jesus. They saw and believed that He was the Messiah, the Chosen One of God. Surely, they would follow Him—right?

Wrong. There was something they cared about more. They didn't want to lose their power and honor in the eyes of the community. To put it plainly, "they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God." They heard Jesus calling—and they walked away.

This kind of thing scares me. It makes me search my own heart. Do I have any idols I love more than the truth, more than Jesus? Is there anything that would make me walk away from Him when He calls?

I don't want there to be anything like that. Choosing anything over Jesus is a kind of spiritual insanity. Jesus is my Savior and my Life and my Hope and my Redeemer. How terrible it would be to lose Him! He died on the cross to give me life. How could I leave Him? May God protect us all from having anything else that takes us away from Jesus.

THE PRAYER: Dear Father, keep us always close to Your Son Jesus in trust and love. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. What three or four things are most important to you in your life?
2. Have you ever struggled with something that threatened to pull you away from Jesus?
3. How do you stay close to Jesus in faith?

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).
What three or four things are most important to you in your life?

Devocional CPTLN del 24 de marzo de 2020 - ¿Qué amas más?

ALIMENTO DIARIO

¿Qué amas más?

24 de Marzo de 2020

Con todo eso, muchos creyeron en él, incluso algunos de los gobernantes; pero por causa de los fariseos no lo confesaban, para no ser expulsados de la sinagoga. Y es que amaban más la gloria de los hombres que la gloria de Dios.

— Juan 12:42-43, RVC

Hace algunos años hablé con una señora para ver si podía ayudar con el transporte de refugiados a la iglesia. "Creo que Dios me está diciendo que lo haga", dijo. "Es como si pudiera escucharlo." Y luego me dejó sin aliento. "Pero no voy a hacerlo", dijo con una sonrisa. "Simplemente decidí que no quiero hacerlo." Y se fue.

Me dejó con la boca abierta. Nunca se me había ocurrido que alguien, y menos una persona cristiana, escuchara el llamado de Dios y simplemente le dijera alegremente "no" y se fuera. ¿Cómo puede suceder algo así? Ya han pasado años y sigo sin poder creerlo.

Sin embargo, eso es exactamente lo que decidieron hacer los sacerdotes, los escribas y los líderes en este pasaje bíblico. Reconocieron a Jesús, vieron y creyeron que era el Mesías, el elegido de Dios. Seguramente lo seguirían, ¿verdad?

Pero no fue así. Había algo que les importaba más. No querían perder su poder y honor ante los ojos de la comunidad. Para decirlo claramente: "Amaban más la gloria de los hombres que la gloria de Dios". Escucharon el llamado de Jesús y se alejaron.

Este tipo de cosas me da miedo. Me hace mirar a mi propio corazón. ¿Hay algo que amo más que la verdad, más que a Jesús? ¿Hay algo que me haga alejarme de él cuando me llama?

No quiero que haya algo así. Al razonar fríamente me doy cuenta que elegir cualquier cosa sobre Jesús es una especie de locura espiritual. Jesús es mi Salvador, mi vida, mi esperanza y mi Redentor. ¡Qué terrible sería perderlo! Él murió en la cruz para darme vida, ¿cómo podría dejarlo? Que Dios nos proteja a todos de tener algo que nos aleje de Jesús.

ORACIÓN: Querido Padre, mantennos siempre cerca de tu Hijo Jesús en confianza y amor. En su nombre. Amén.

Dra. Kari Vo

Para reflexionar:

1. ¿Alguna vez has luchado con algo que amenazaba con alejarte de Jesús?
2. ¿Cómo te mantienes cerca de Jesús?

© 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 luchado con algo que amenazaba con alejarte de Jesús?

Nuestro Pan Diario - La campana

La campana

La escritura de hoy: Mateo 16:13-20
La Biblia en un año: Josué 16–18; Lucas 2:1-24

…  tú eres Pedro, y sobre esta roca edificaré mi iglesia; y las puertas del Hades no prevalecerán contra ella.

— Mateo 16:18

Desde niño, Javier soñaba con ser miembro de la Marina de su país; lo que lo llevó a años de disciplina física y sacrificio personal. Al final, enfrentó rigurosas pruebas de fuerza y resistencia, incluido lo que los novatos llaman la «semana infernal».

Javier no pudo completar el agotador entrenamiento, y de mala gana tocó una campana para informar al comandante y a los otros alumnos  que dejaba el programa. Para la mayoría, pareció un fracaso. Pero a pesar de su profunda decepción, Javier pudo ver después aquel fracaso militar como una preparación para el trabajo de su vida.

El apóstol Pedro experimentó su propia forma de fracaso. Declaró con audacia que seguiría leal a Jesús, aun hasta la prisión o la muerte (Lucas 22:22). Pero después lloró amargamente tras haber negado conocerlo lo conocía (vv. 60-62). Pero Dios tenía planes más allá de ese fracaso, ya que antes, tras la afirmación de Pedro de que Jesús era «el Cristo», Él le dijo: «Y yo también te digo, que tú eres Pedro, y sobre esta roca edificaré mi iglesia; y las puertas del Hades no prevalecerán contra ella. Y a ti te daré las llaves…» (Mateo 16:18-19; ver también Lucas 22:31-32).

¿Algún fracaso en tu vida te hace sentir indigno o inepto? No dejes que la campana del fracaso no te impida ver los propósitos de Dios para ti.

De:  Elisa Morgan

Reflexiona y ora

Dios, ayúdame a usar mis adversidades para tu gloria.

¿Qué consideras un fracaso en tu vida que Dios usó para ayudarte a crecer espiritualmente?

© 2020 Ministerios Nuestro Pan Diario
Desde niño, Javier soñaba con ser miembro de la Marina de su país; lo que lo llevó a años de disciplina física y sacrificio personal. Al final, enfrentó rigurosas pruebas de fuerza y resistencia, incluido lo que los novatos llaman la «semana infernal».