The Daily Lectionary for THURSDAY, March 26, 2020

Psalm 130; Ezekiel 1:1-3; 2:8—3:3; Revelation 10:1-11

The Daily Lectionary

THURSDAY, March 26, 2020

(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)

Psalm 130

Mercy and redemption

1  Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
2    Lord, hear my voice.
   Let your ears be attentive
     to my cry for mercy.

3  If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
     Lord, who could stand?
4  But with you there is forgiveness,
     so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

5  I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
     and in his word I put my hope.
6  I wait for the Lord
     more than watchmen wait for the morning,
     more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7  Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
     for with the Lord is unfailing love
     and with him is full redemption.
8  He himself will redeem Israel
     from all their sins.

Ezekiel 1:1-3; 2:8—3:3

The word of God: lamentation and sweetness

1:1 In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

2 On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— 3 the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the Lord was on him.

…

2:8 But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

9 Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, 10 which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.

3:1 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

Revelation 10:1-11

The word of God: bitter and sweet

10:1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. 2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”

5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! 7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’” 10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”

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 26, 2020
Psalm 130; Ezekiel 1:1-3; 2:8—3:3; Revelation 10:1-11

The Daily Prayer for THURSDAY, March 26, 2020

The Daily Prayer

THURSDAY, March 26, 2020

Harriet Tubman (1820?—1913)

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in the 1820s. In 1849, she had a vision that compelled her to run away, traveling under the cover of night with only the North Star as her guide. Arriving safely in Pennsylvania, she felt like she was in heaven. “I had crossed the line,” she wrote. “I was FREE, but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom.” Tubman committed herself to help others escape to freedom, guiding at least three hundred fugitive slaves to Canada over the course of fifteen years. To those who traveled under her guidance, she was known as Moses.

In a letter to Harriet Tubman, fellow abolitionist Frederick Douglass wrote, “Most that I have done and suffered in the service of our cause has been in public, and I have received much encouragement at every step of the way. You, on the other hand, have labored in a private way … most that you have done has been witnessed by a few trembling, scared, and foot-sore bondsmen and women, whom you have led out of the house of bondage, and whose heartfelt ‘God Bless You’ has been your only reward.”

Thank you, Lord, that throughout history there have been women whose steadfast faith and hope in you have brought about justice, freedom, and security for those who most needed it. We pray we can learn from women like Rahab and Esther and Harriet Tubman what it means to commit our lives to your service. Amen.

Verse of the Day for THURSDAY, March 26, 2020

Philippians 1:29

For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,

Read all of Philippians 1

Listen to Philippians 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 26, 2020 - Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

40 Days of Lenten Prayers

Day 26 - Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Merciful Father/ Loving Mother,

I know that the tiny sacrifices I make this Lent

can never serve as a real penance in my life.

But help me to make my whole life

one of following your Son.

I am filled with your love.

Let your love shine out from within me

and guide my life in this sacred journey

toward the Easter joy you offer me.

Amen.

Un dia a la Vez - Jueves 26 de marzo de 2020

Tiempo de dar gracias

El Señor te guiará siempre; te saciará en tierras resecas, y fortalecerá tus huesos. Serás como jardín bien regado, como manantial cuyas aguas no se agotan.

— Isaías 58:11 (NVI)

Este mes de marzo es muy significativo para mí, pues fue cuando comencé varias de las cosas que hoy celebro con este devocional.

Por mencionar algunas de las tantas cosas que le agradezco a Dios: Hace veintitrés años que llegué a vivir en este país y hace veinte años que inicié mi carrera en la radio.

Quiero motivarte a que traigas a tu memoria todo lo que te ha dado Dios.

Que puedas hoy, al comenzar tu día, dar gracias por tu vida, por tus hijos, trabajo, salud, por todo.

Sé que la vida no ha sido fácil para ninguno de los que hoy leemos este libro. Tuvimos que salir de nuestros países y pasar por muchas necesidades. No obstante, cuando miramos y analizamos nuestra vida, de seguro que Dios nos ha guardado, nos ha bendecido, nos ha dado más de lo que esperábamos.

Y si tú dices: «Bueno, será para ella que le ha ido bien, pues yo aún no he logrado lo que quiero. Mi situación en este país ha ido de mal en peor. Aquí terminó mi matrimonio. En este lugar perdí a un hijo». Cualquiera que sea tu situación, no quiero que te desanimes, por favor.

En mi caso, valoro mucho más las cosas cuando se logran de manera difícil. No se trata de que sea masoquista, sino porque cuando las cosas mejoran, podemos ver la mano de Dios en cada una de ellas. Por eso, es tiempo de dar gracias y creerle a nuestro Padre celestial.

Cuando le entregamos nuestras preocupaciones por completo, nuestro panorama cambia porque Él es fiel.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
Este mes de marzo es muy significativo para mí, pues fue cuando comencé varias de las cosas que hoy celebro con este devocional.

Standing Strong Through the Storm - Thursday, March 26, 2020

HUMAN INCOMPREHENSION: THE CROSS

And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

— Mark 15:34 (NIV)

Today’s devotional again 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 continues and explains another aspect of The Cross:

But it is not all triumph. I know some pastors who said they just smiled all the time from the moment they were arrested and felt unutterable joy the whole time. I suppose that is possible. After all, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego seemed to be very calm throughout their ordeal. But we must not make that the test of true spirituality. The Psalmists are full of despair and questioning as they go through hard times. So were Jeremiah and Job and Habakkuk. And most sobering of all, our Lord Himself was heard to cry from the Cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34)

This is the dark side of the experience. What makes suffering hardest to bear are the questions, the voices that well up within each of us, that are full of doubts, despair, and depression. And I believe this is OK. As humans, we were not meant to suffer. We were made to be part of a perfect world, with no sorrow or sighing, an Eden where everyone was righteous and fulfilled. So when we suffer, there is a sense in which our bodies and spirits witness saying, “This is unnatural, this is not why we were created.”

In my own case, I wondered whether God had turned His back on me, or was punishing me for past sins. Yes, I know that sounds odd after all I have just said about feeling the power of God within to forgive my persecutor, and having the angel strengthen me. But you forget these things in the dark watches of the night, sleeping sandwiched between two prisoners and being cursed by everyone because you need to rise and go to the toilet; and so everyone must wake up and shift their position. It was the nights that were worst.

But most of these doubts were not weaknesses as such; they were attempts to comprehend the incomprehensible. Where is God here? What’s He up to? How can this possibly extend His kingdom? How is His glory served by one of my sisters being raped by an interrogator? The fact is, when we suffer, there is so much that we cannot understand. I read somewhere that “because we are human, we yearn to understand, but because we are human, we cannot understand.”

Suffering puts us in our place. It humbles us to realize that we are not really in charge of our lives. This is a hard realization. God is in charge, and His purposes can be hard to discern at times. He takes even the sin of the world and turns it to good account. We often do not see how He does this, but we believe it. Accepting it in faith is never easy when you are suffering.

RESPONSE: Today I will not try to understand the incomprehensible. I will accept God’s goodness in everything by faith.

PRAYER: Pray for Christian prisoners going through great pain today that they may know His touch.

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 26, 2020

Operating System

1 Corinthians 2:1–16
Recommended Reading: Proverbs 1:1–7; 2:1–22; 4:1–27

Do you stay up on New Year’s Eve to wait for the clock to strike midnight? If you do, you probably don’t care that much about when the New Year begins in places like Fiji or Auckland, New Zealand. However, you probably cared a bit more on December 31, 1999, as TV cameras captured the stroke of midnight in those locations to see whether the world had avoided the Y2K disaster. As clocks struck 12:00, 12:01, 12:02 in each time zone around the world, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief that televisions still functioned, nuclear power plants hadn’t failed and cars continued running.

Remember the craziness that preceded Y2K? Companies and governments spent billions of dollars to hire software programmers to pore over and correct millions of lines of computer code. All because of a looming catastrophe if computers were to misread the last two zeroes in the year 2000 as 1900.

Ironically, most of us have zero understanding of computer code. The apostle Paul said that wisdom is much the same way. Unless we have the Holy Spirit to help us know the language of God’s wisdom, we won’t really understand it. “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:14). People who don’t have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them quite naturally struggle to grasp spiritual wisdom—God’s Word, his desires, his character, his values. In fact, God’s wisdom often seems foolish to non-Christians. It’s like a foreign language to them. But when people trust in Christ as Savior, God sends the Holy Spirit to dwell within them (see John 14:16–17). They can begin learning God’s wisdom while the Holy Spirit helps them understand it.

If we believe that true wisdom comes only from God, where should we turn when we seek wisdom? Paul provides the answer: “’What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived—the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit’” (1 Corinthians 2:9–10). In the Bible God speaks the language that drives us—our spiritual operating system. If we want to know God’s wisdom so that we can process the joys and trials of everyday living, we need to turn often to God’s Word and ask the Spirit to help us understand it.

To Take Away

• Do you ever struggle to understand thoughts and concepts from the Bible? How do you think the Holy Spirit can help?
• Are you growing in your understanding of God and spiritual truth? When was the last time you asked the Spirit to help you understand God’s Word?
• What practical steps can you take to grow in God’s wisdom?

Remember the craziness that preceded Y2K?

LHM Daily Devotions March 26, 2020 - WASHING FEET

"WASHING FEET"

March 26, 2020

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.

— John 13:3-5, ESV

Have you ever had to wash someone? It's a very intimate act—so intimate that it makes a lot of us uncomfortable. We feel awkward—should we really be doing this? If we are on the receiving end, we may struggle to do it ourselves—simply because we have trouble receiving such an intimate act of care.

And yet so often it is necessary. If you care for small children, you know that washing them is part of their daily care. They can't handle it for themselves. The same is true if you are caring for a disabled or sick person. Because you love them, you do for them what they cannot do themselves. And if it is you who is receiving the care, you try to do so with grace and thankfulness—glad that someone loves you enough to care for you in this way.

What, then, was Jesus doing when He washed the feet of His disciples? They were neither sick nor disabled—in their own opinions, anyway. But Jesus saw the truth of their situation. Whether they needed washing desperately—the washing of the forgiveness of sins that God gives us at Baptism, and then gives us anew every time we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness. They needed daily washing, just as each of us do. And Jesus was not too proud to give it.

Picture Him there, down in the darkness, dressed like a servant, washing the mud and the stink of the day off your feet. Jesus does not grudge you this. It is an intimate act of love that He performs for us—why? Because we are the people He loves and came to set free from sin and death. Because we are the people He died and rose for. Because we are the people He baptized and made into His own family, children of God.

Jesus washes you because He loves you. Never forget it.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for loving me so, and help me to love my brothers and sisters in the same way. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. When did you ever wash someone else? How did it feel?
2. Who has washed you, and when?
3. Peter was embarrassed to let Jesus wash his feet. Would that be a problem 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).
When did you ever wash someone else? How did it feel?

Devocional CPTLN del 26 de marzo de 2020 - Lavando los pies

ALIMENTO DIARIO

Lavando los pies

26 de Marzo de 2020

Jesús... se quitó su manto y, tomando una toalla, se la sujetó a la cintura; luego puso agua en un recipiente y comenzó a lavar los pies de los discípulos, para luego secárselos con la toalla que llevaba en la cintura. Cuando llegó a Simón Pedro, éste le dijo: "Señor, ¿tú me lavas los pies?"

— Juan 13:3-6, RVC

¿Alguna vez has tenido que lavar a alguien? Es un acto muy íntimo; tan íntimo, que nos incomoda a muchos. Si somos nosotros los que somos lavados, podemos tener problemas para recibir un acto de cuidado tan íntimo.

Y, sin embargo, a menudo es necesario. Si cuidas niños pequeños, sabes que lavarlos es parte de su cuidado diario ya que no pueden hacerlo por ellos mismos. Lo mismo es cierto si estás cuidando a una persona discapacitada o enferma. Porque los amas, haces por ellos lo que no pueden hacer por ellos mismos. Y si eres tú quien recibe la atención, intenta hacerlo con gentileza y agradecimiento, contento de que alguien te ame lo suficiente como para cuidarte de esa manera.

Entonces, ¿qué estaba haciendo Jesús cuando lavó los pies de sus discípulos? Ellos no estaban enfermos ni discapacitados. Pero Jesús vio la verdad de su situación. Necesitaban ser lavados desesperadamente, lavados con el perdón de los pecados que Dios da en el Bautismo. Jesús nos lava de nuevo cada vez que confesamos nuestros pecados y pedimos perdón. Ellos necesitaban ser lavados diariamente, como cada uno de nosotros. Y Jesús no era tan orgulloso como para no hacerlo.

Imagínatelo allí, de rodillas, vestido como un sirviente, quitándote el barro y el hedor del día. Jesús no te guarda rencor por esto. Es un acto íntimo de amor que realiza para nosotros. ¿Por qué? Porque somos las personas que él ama y vino a liberar del pecado y la muerte. Porque somos las personas por las que murió y resucitó. Porque somos las personas que bautizó y convirtió en su propia familia, para hacernos hijos de Dios.

Jesús te lava porque te ama. Nunca lo olvides.

ORACIÓN: Querido Señor, gracias por amarme tanto. Ayúdame a amar a mis hermanos de la misma manera. Amén.

Dra. Kari Vo

Para reflexionar:

1. ¿Quién te ha lavado y cuándo?
2. Pedro estaba avergonzado de dejar que Jesús le lavara los pies. ¿Sería eso un problema para ti?

© Copyright 2020 Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones. Que a través de estos devocionales, la Palabra de Dios te refresque en tu diario caminar.
¿Quién te ha lavado y cuándo?

Хлеб наш насущный - Увидеть спасение

Увидеть спасение

Читать сейчас: Луки 3:1-6 | Библия за год: Иисуса Навина 22-24; Луки 3

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И узрит всякая плоть спасение Божие. — Луки 3:6

В свои пятьдесят три года Соня совсем не ожидала, что оставит свой бизнес, страну и присоединится к группе беженцев, искавших приюта на чужбине. Бандиты убили ее племянника и пытались забрать семнадцатилетнего сына в свои ряды. Тогда Соня решила, что единственный выход – бегство. «Я молюсь Богу… Я сделаю все, что нужно, – объясняет она. – Я сделаю все, чтобы нам с сыном не умереть с голоду… Я лучше буду смотреть, как он страдает здесь, чем он там закончит свою жизнь в каком-нибудь мешке или в канаве».

Есть ли в Библии что-нибудь для Сони и ее сына? Или для множества других людей, пострадавших от несправедливости и различных бедствий? Возвещая пришествие Иисуса, Иоанн Креститель объявил добрую весть для Сони, для нас и для всего мира. «Приготовьте путь Господу», – провозгласил он (Лк. 3:4). Иоанн убеждал людей, что, когда придет Мессия, Бог совершит великое и всеобъемлющее избавление. Библейский термин для этого избавления – спасение.

Спасение включает в себя как исцеление грешных сердец, так (однажды) и устранение всего мирового зла. Божий преображающий труд возможен для каждой судьбы, каждой человеческой системы и доступен для всех. «Узрит всякая плоть спасение Божие», – сказал Иоанн (ст. 6).

С каким бы злом мы ни столкнулись, крест и воскресение Христа убеждают нас, что мы увидим Божье спасение. Однажды мы испытаем полное освобождение.

В чем в своей жизни вы хотели бы увидеть Божье спасение? Как Бог призвал вас быть частью Его преображающего труда на земле?

Боже, Ты обещаешь, что все люди увидят Твое спасение. Я держусь за это обетование. Яви мне Свое спасение и исцеление.

автор: Уинн Кольер

© 2020 Хлеб Наш Насущный
В свои пятьдесят три года Соня совсем не ожидала, что оставит свой бизнес, страну и присоединится к группе беженцев, искавших приюта на чужбине.