The Daily Lectionary for WEDNESDAY, April 29, 2020

The Daily Lectionary

WEDNESDAY, April 29, 2020

Psalm 134; Exodus 24:1-11; John 21:1-14

(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)

Psalm 134

Praise God day and night

1  Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
     who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
2  Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
     and praise the Lord.

3  May the Lord bless you from Zion,
     he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.

Exodus 24:1-11

Moses and the elders eat with God

24:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2 but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”

3 When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” 4 Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.

He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.”

8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.

John 21:1-14

The risen Christ eats with the disciples

21:1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

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 WEDNESDAY, April 29, 2020
Psalm 134; Exodus 24:1-11; John 21:1-14

The Daily Prayer for WEDNESDAY, April 29, 2020

The Daily Prayer

WEDNESDAY, April 29, 2020

Francis de Sales, a sixteenth-century bishop, said, “We often say that we are nothing, that we are misery itself and the refuse of the world, but we would be very sorry if anyone took us at our word or told others that we are really such as we say.”

Lord, we thank you for our brokenness because it makes us depend on you. Yet you are continually remaking us into a new creation. Keep us from false humilities and help us to reflect back to one another what it means to be created in your image. Amen.

Verse of the Day for WEDNESDAY, April 29, 2020

Job 19:25

I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.

Read all of Job 19

Listen to Job 19

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 - Miércoles 29 de abril de 2020

Promesas sin cumplir

¡Sé fuerte y valiente! ¡No tengas miedo ni te desanimes! [...] ¡pon manos a la obra, y que el Señor te acompañe!

— 1 Crónicas 22:13, 16, NVI

Ya falta un día para que se acabe este cuarto mes del año y te está preocupando que muchas de las cosas que prometiste cambiar en el inicio del año aún no las puedes cumplir.

En este día, te motivo a que no te des por vencido. Un hábito no se cambia de la noche a la mañana, ni tampoco dejar de hacer algo que sabemos que no es la voluntad de Dios. A decir verdad, nos cuesta muchísimo cumplirlo.

Por lo tanto, nuestra oración diaria debe ser pedirle a Dios que nos permita desarrollar el dominio propio y estoy segura que, con el favor de Jesús, lo lograremos.

No te desanimes, Dios te ama y te ayudará a cumplir tus promesas.

Repítete: «Yo puedo, yo lo haré, yo lo lograré. Lo que me propongo, eso haré».

De ese modo, estoy segura que lograremos cumplir nuestras promesas.

¡Ánimo, aún nos faltan ocho meses para hacerlo!

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
En este día, te motivo a que no te des por vencido.

Standing Strong Through the Storm - Wednesday, April 29, 2020

GOD USES PROBLEMS AND PERSECUTION TO PROTECT YOU

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

— Genesis 50:20, NIV

Here is another of five ways God uses problems and persecution in your life: God uses problems and persecution to PROTECT you.

A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem—but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management’s actions were eventually discovered.

Eritrean Christian singer, Helen Berhane, testifies that God helped her at every turn during her almost three years of imprisonment in the infamous shipping containers. She saw God repeatedly turn evil plans into good:

One day they [the guards] brought two girls to my container. Their names were Rahel and Elsa. They were both in the army before they were arrested. They were supposed to spy on me and report back, because the authorities could not understand how, despite their treatment of me, I was still defiant. However, things backfired because the girls really liked me. Very soon we had become good friends and they even told me, “We were supposed to spy on you. But we like you, and so we won’t!”

…Since the girls were not spying as they had been told to, Rahel was released, but they left Elsa in the container with me for a while. Rahel left all her spare clothes for me. This was a blessing, as for a long time I had not been allowed any more clothes, even when the old ones were worn out. I felt that this was God’s provision for me, like the ravens he sent to Elijah. It was my experience that no matter what hardship I was in, God always sent someone to help me. So, although these girls were sent to spy on me, God used them to bless me.[1] (emphasis mine)

RESPONSE: God is at work in my life—even when I do not recognize it or understand it. It is much easier and more profitable when I cooperate with Him. This is the way to victory!

PRAYER: God help me to trust You to bring good from the challenges, difficulties and persecutions I might be subjected to today.

1. Helen Berhane, The Song of the Nightingale (Colorado Springs: Authentic Media, 2009), pp. 57-58.

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 - April 29, 2020 - "Living More Nobly"

 

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"Living More Nobly"

April 29, 2020

For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

— 1 Peter 2:19-25, ESV

It's easy to forget the books of the Bible were written by those who were in the thick of it. The apostles wrote from inside a world that, for the most part, was anything but thrilled with their message. This weird Jesus sect—reviled by the Jews, misunderstood and oppressed by the Romans, scoffed at by the Greeks—was not in the good graces of anyone. And the message they shared—one of enduring through sorrow and physical suffering—was certainly not the stuff to win converts to their cause.

How could remaining steadfast in the face of unjust ridicule or bearing up under persecution be in any way noble, even honorable? Aren't these things to react against, standing one's ground in the face of his or her oppressor, even letting it come to blows if it has to? After all, the Savior suffered enough. God knows He suffered enough! When do we get to bring the hammer down on those who mock God and demean us for our faith? When is enough enough?

One might think it was enough a long time ago, but that's not the way God works, is it? His Son-spoken truths haven't been given to us for us to wedge them into our perverse way of thinking, jamming them into our mistaken ideas of what we think victory with God should look like.

No, God's ways are a radical departure from our own, and let us thank Him for that!

Peter's colleague Paul said it well when he wrote, "For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles. but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:21-25).

THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, give us Your Holy Spirit to lift us up under life's strain so we might live as Your people. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. Have you ever had to square off with a bully? How did that turn out for you?

2. Are you able to keep from lashing out at others who offend you? What's the secret to your success?

3. How can we get beyond the knee-jerk reaction we might have toward people or circumstances that irritate us? It is all willpower? Can God help us overcome these negative reactions? How?

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).
Have you ever had to square off with a bully? How did that turn out for you?

Devocional CPTLN del 29 de abril de 2020 - "Viviendo noblemente"

ALIMENTO DIARIO

Viviendo noblemente

29 de Abril de 2020

El soportar sufrimientos injustos es digno de elogio, si quien los soporta lo hace por motivos de conciencia delante de Dios. Porque ¿qué mérito hay en soportar malos tratos por hacer algo malo? Pero cuando se sufre por hacer el bien y se aguanta el castigo, entonces sí es meritorio ante Dios. Y ustedes fueron llamados para esto. Porque también Cristo sufrió por nosotros, con lo que nos dio un ejemplo para que sigamos sus pasos. Cristo no cometió ningún pecado, ni hubo engaño en su boca. Cuando lo maldecían, no respondía con maldición; cuando sufría, no amenazaba, sino que remitía su causa al que juzga con justicia. Él mismo llevó en su cuerpo nuestros pecados al madero, para que nosotros, muertos ya al pecado, vivamos para la justicia. Por sus heridas fueron ustedes sanados. Porque ustedes eran como ovejas descarriadas, pero ahora se han vuelto al Pastor que cuida de sus vidas.

— 1 Pedro 2:19-25, RVC

Es fácil olvidar que la mayoría de los libros de la Biblia fueron escritos por sus propios protagonistas. Los apóstoles escribieron viviendo en un mundo que, en su mayor parte, no simpatizaba para nada con su mensaje. Esa extraña secta de Jesús, vilipendiada por los judíos, incomprendida y oprimida por los romanos y burlada por los griegos, no era bien vista por nadie. Y el mensaje que compartían, que incluía soportar el sufrimiento y los castigos físicos, ciertamente no era el más apropiado para ganar conversos para su causa.

¿Cómo podía ser noble el mantenerse firme ante el ridículo injusto o el soportar la persecución? ¿Acaso no debemos reaccionar contra estas cosas, haciéndole frente al opresor? Después de todo, el Salvador ya sufrió suficiente. ¡Dios sabe que sufrió suficiente! ¿Cuándo podremos derribar a los que se burlan de Dios y nos rebajan por nuestra fe? ¿Cuándo es suficiente?

Podríamos pensar que ya hace mucho tiempo que fue suficiente, pero esa no es la forma en que Dios obra, ¿verdad? Dios no nos dio las verdades dichas por su Hijo para que las tergiversemos y las usemos según cómo creemos que debería ser la victoria con Dios.

No, los caminos de Dios son totalmente diferentes de los nuestros, ¡y por eso le damos gracias!

Pablo, el colega de Pedro, lo dijo bien: "Porque Dios no permitió que el mundo lo conociera mediante la sabiduría, sino que dispuso salvar a los creyentes por la locura de la predicación. Los judíos piden señales, y los griegos van tras la sabiduría, pero nosotros predicamos a Cristo crucificado, que para los judíos es ciertamente un tropezadero, y para los no judíos una locura, pero para los llamados, tanto judíos como griegos, Cristo es poder de Dios, y sabiduría de Dios. Porque lo insensato de Dios es más sabio que los hombres, y lo débil de Dios es más fuerte que los hombres" (1 Corintios 1: 21-25).

ORACIÓN: Padre celestial, danos tu Espíritu Santo para levantarnos bajo la tensión de la vida para que podamos vivir como tu pueblo. En el nombre de Jesús oramos. Amén.

Paul Schreiber

Para reflexionar:

* ¿Cómo reaccionas cuando alguien te ofende?

* ¿Cómo puede Dios ayudarnos a superar las reacciones negativas?

© Copyright 2020 Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones. Que a través de estos devocionales, la Palabra de Dios te refresque en tu diario caminar.
¿Cómo reaccionas cuando alguien te ofende?

Ministérios Pão Diário - Outro olhar para Jesus!

Outro olhar para Jesus!

Escritura de hoje: Hebreus 3:1-6
Bíblia em um ano: 1 Reis 6–7; Lucas 20:27-47

…nós somos a casa de Deus, se nos mantivermos corajosos e firmes em nossa esperança gloriosa.

— Hebreus 3:6

Se houve uma pessoa fiel, foi o irmão Justino. Ele era comprometido com o seu casamento, dedicado ao seu trabalho nos correios e, todos os domingos, estava em seu posto como líder em nossa igreja local. Recentemente visitei a igreja de minha infância, e, acima do piano, estava o sino que ele tocava para avisar que o tempo do estudo bíblico estava acabando. O sino resistiu ao teste do tempo. E, embora esse irmão já esteja com o Senhor há anos, seu legado de fidelidade ainda resiste.

Hebreus 3 traz à atenção dos leitores um servo e Filho fiel. Embora seja inegável a fidelidade de Moisés como “servo” de Deus, é em Jesus que somos ensinados a nos concentrar. “Portanto, irmãos santos […] considerem atentamente a Jesus, que declaramos ser Apóstolo e Sumo Sacerdote” (v.1). Esse era o encorajamento a todos os que enfrentavam tentação (2:18). Seu legado somente poderia vir de seguir a Jesus, O único fiel.

O que você faz quando os ventos da tentação sopram ao seu redor? Quando está cansado, desgastado e quer desistir? O texto nos convida a considerar atentamente a Jesus. Olhe novamente para Ele — e de novo, e de novo. Quando reexaminamos Jesus, descobrimos o confiável Filho de Deus, que nos dá coragem para viver em Sua família.

Por:  Arthur Jackson

Refletir & Orar

Pai, através de Teu Espírito, dá-nos poder para amarmos, honrarmos e seguirmos o Senhor Jesus Cristo corajosamente.

Olhar para Jesus nos dá coragem para enfrentarmos os desafios da nossa vida.

© 2020 Ministérios Pão Diário
Se houve uma pessoa fiel, foi o irmão Justino.