The Daily Lectionary for TUESDAY, May 5, 2020

The Daily Lectionary

TUESDAY, May 5, 2020

Psalm 100; Ezekiel 34:23-31; Hebrews 13:20-21

(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)

Psalm 100

We are the sheep of God’s pasture

1  Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2    Worship the Lord with gladness;
     come before him with joyful songs.
3  Know that the Lord is God.
     It is he who made us, and we are his;
     we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4  Enter his gates with thanksgiving
     and his courts with praise;
     give thanks to him and praise his name.
5  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
     his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Ezekiel 34:23-31

God provides perfect pasture

34:23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken.

25 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety. 26 I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. 27 The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. 29 I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. 30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 31 You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Hebrews 13:20-21

God’s blessing through Christ the shepherd

13:20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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, May 5, 2020
Psalm 100; Ezekiel 34:23-31; Hebrews 13:20-21

The Daily Prayer for MONDAY, May 4, 2020

The Daily Prayer

TUESDAY, May 5, 2020

French sociologist Jacques Ellul wrote, “One thing, however, is sure: unless Christians fulfill their prophetic role, unless they become the advocates and defenders of the truly poor, witness to their misery, then, infallibly, violence will suddenly break out. In one way or another ‘their blood cries to heaven,’ and violence will seem the only way out. It will be too late to try to calm them and create harmony.”

God, you call us to walk alongside the poor, all the while reminding us of our own poverty in spirit. Grant us courage to cry out against injustice. Grant us burdened hearts that ache to see the enemies of hunger, violence, and economic injustice scattered. Amen.

Verse of the Day for TUESDAY, May 5, 2020

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Read all of Philippians 4

Listen to Philippians 4

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 05 de mayo de 2020

Aprendamos de nuestros hijos

Que nuestros hijos [...] crezcan como plantas frondosas; que sean nuestras hijas como columnas esculpidas para adornar un palacio.

— Salmo 144:12, NVI

Este es el último devocional acerca de cómo nuestros hijos nos dan el ejemplo y la fuerza que necesitamos para salir adelante. En realidad, no solo nos debe llenar un cónyuge, pues los hijos nos los envió Dios a fin de que nos amen y nos acompañen.

Así que mi campaña está dirigida a decirte que no los maltrates y que comprendas todo lo que puedes crecer cuando aprendes de ellos. Apóyalos en sus talentos y pídele a Dios que te conviertas en la mejor madre o el mejor padre del mundo.

Bueno, por último, me queda Anacristina, a la que todos les decimos cariñosamente «Annie». Esta princesita, con tan solo cinco años, me ha cambiado la vida. Soy el antes y el después de Annie. Mi vida se transformó acto seguido de su nacimiento. Al final, me ubiqué en muchas esferas e hice pactos serios de cambio con Dios. Fueron los años de más estabilidad y orden que pude ofrecerles a todas.

Annie ha llenado nuestra casa de alegría. Es una nena talentosa, canta y baila. Sin embargo, lo más lindo es que tiene la gran constitución física para ser una gran deportista, pues nació con sus músculos muy flexibles. Annie, eres un amor para mí. Te amo con todo el corazón.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
Este es el último devocional acerca de cómo nuestros hijos nos dan el ejemplo y la fuerza que necesitamos para salir adelante.

Standing Strong Through the Storm - Tuesday, May 5, 2020

FAMILY PERSECUTION

“…I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.”

— Matthew 10:35-36, NIV

Anyone who has become a Christian in a family of unbelievers can testify to the hundreds of ways persecution can be experienced. Jesus warned us up front about this in chilling language. It was Jesus who experienced this from his own family, being chided and misunderstood (Luke 2:48), and his “own people did not accept him” (John 1:11).

Most families in the world are not nuclear in nature, but extended, so an entire web of kinship relations are fouled up by the action of becoming a Christian. It can be very difficult to make one’s way in the world accordingly. We could even say it is one’s family culture that rejects the Christian witness. One reason for this is over-familiarity. Jesus generalizes from his experience of rejection in Nazareth saying, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown” (Matthew 13:57).

This goes right back to the dawn of human history. The first recorded act of violence was due to family persecution—Cain murdering his brother Abel out of religious jealousy. King David bemoans the betrayal of a close friend in Psalm 41:9, “Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” Jeremiah is dismayed to find members of his own family involved in an assassination plot against him; “…even your kinsfolk and your own family, even they have dealt treacherously with you; they are in full cry after you” (Jeremiah 12:6).

In China today, if a student converts to Christianity it is the parents that insist he or she give up her faith, for fear of an inferior work placement bringing dishonor to the family. In many Buddhist societies, like Burma, to become a Christian is tantamount to saying “I am no longer Burmese.”

It is a family misunderstanding that is often the hardest to bear. After all, we long for the love of those who have nurtured us. To have that love relationship ruptured ranks as one of the greatest traumas a human being can face.

In Pakistan, a father was asked why he murdered his daughter. He answered simply, “I didn’t murder my daughter. When she became a Christian, she was no longer my daughter.” He will never be charged for his crime.

RESPONSE: Today I will treasure my family and watch for Satan’s subtle attacks against it.

PRAYER: Pray for those experiencing Satan’s deadly tactic of persecution from family members.

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 May 5, 2020 - "Open-Hearted Love"

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"Open-Hearted Love"

May 5, 2020

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose ... And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty ..." And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.

— Acts 6:1a, 2-3, 5, ESV

Acts 6 tells us that the new Christian church had the habit of giving out food to those who needed it every day, much like our modern food banks. A lot of the recipients were widows—women who had no husbands or grown children to care for them. So the church took care of them, and this was good.

But even in those days there were groups that didn't get along well with one another. For example, there were the Hellenists, who were Jews who had picked up a lot of foreign Greek culture. Then there were the so-called Hebrews, who rejected all that foreign stuff. There were people from both groups in the baby Christian church. And sure enough, there was trouble.

The Hellenists complained their widows were getting overlooked in the food distribution. But notice what the church did! They didn't just blow off their complaint. They didn't argue or respond with complaints of their own. No, they listened. They took the problem seriously. The whole church treated this problem as if it were happening to them personally, regardless of ethnic group.

Then they figured out a solution. They chose seven leaders who were "of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom." They weren't just warm bodies, or the first seven people they could guilt into taking the job. No, these were the best. And notice their names! Every single name on that list is a Greek name. The leaders' hearts were so open and loving that they made sure the people appointed to handle the problem came from the very ethnic group that was suffering.

Where does this kind of love come from, that can look at "those people" and see them as "us people"? Only from Jesus. He is the only One who can break down cultural and ethnic walls in such a complete and wonderful way. And no wonder, because He Himself is our peace—with God and with one another. As Paul writes, "But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility ... through the cross ... For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the Cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:13-14, 16b, 18-20).

THE PRAYER: Father, help us to love one another with Jesus' own love. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. Who do you think of as "those people"?

2. What would it take for you to think of them as "us people"?

3. What first step might you take in Jesus' love to begin thinking of them as "us people"?

This Daily Devotion was 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).
Who do you think of as "those people"?

Devocional CPTLN del 05 de mayo de 2020 - "Amor total"

ALIMENTO DIARIO

Amor total

05 de Mayo de 2020

En aquellos días el número de los discípulos iba en aumento, pero también comenzaron las murmuraciones de los griegos en contra de los hebreos... Entonces los doce convocaron a todos los discípulos y les dijeron: «No está bien que desatendamos la proclamación de la palabra de Dios por atender a las mesas. Así que, hermanos, busquen entre todos ustedes a siete varones de buen testimonio, que estén llenos del Espíritu Santo y de sabiduría, para que se encarguen de este trabajo..." Esta propuesta fue del agrado de todos los creyentes, y eligieron a Esteban, que era un varón lleno de fe y del Espíritu Santo, y a Felipe, Prócoro, Nicanor, Timón, Parmenas y Nicolás, un prosélito de Antioquía.

— Hechos 6:1a, 2-3, 5, RVC

Hechos 6 nos dice que la nueva iglesia cristiana tenía la costumbre de repartir comida todos los días a quienes la necesitaban, al igual que nuestros bancos de alimentos modernos. Muchos de los destinatarios eran viudas, mujeres que no tenían esposos ni hijos adultos para cuidarlos. Entonces la iglesia los cuidaba, y esto era bueno.

Pero había grupos que no se llevaban bien entre ellos. Por ejemplo estaban los helenistas, que eran judíos que habían recogido mucha cultura griega extranjera, y también estaban los hebreos, que rechazaban todas esas cosas extrañas. En la primera iglesia cristiana había personas de ambos grupos y, efectivamente, había problemas.

Los helenistas se quejaban de que sus viudas estaban siendo ignoradas en la distribución de alimentos. ¡Pero notemos lo que hizo la iglesia! No ignoraron su queja, no discutieron ni respondieron con sus propias quejas. Al contrario, los escucharon y tomaron en serio el problema. Toda la iglesia lo asumió como si les estuviera sucediendo a ellos mismo, más allá del grupo étnico al cual pertenecieran, y buscaron una solución. Decidieron entonces elegir a siete líderes de buena reputación, que estuvieran llenos del Espíritu y de sabiduría. No eran las primeras siete personas que se les ocurrieron, sino que fueron los mejores para esa tarea. ¿Te has dado cuenta de sus nombres? Cada nombre en esa lista es un nombre griego. Sus corazones estaban tan llenos de amor, que se aseguraron de que las personas elegidas provinieran del mismo grupo étnico que estaba sufriendo.

¿De dónde nace ese tipo de amor que puede mirar a "los otros" y verlos como si fueran uno de "nosotros"? Solo de Jesús. Él es el único que puede derribar las paredes culturales y étnicas de una manera tan completa y maravillosa. Él es nuestra paz con Dios y con los demás. Como escribe Pablo: "Pero ahora, en Cristo Jesús, ustedes, que en otro tiempo estaban lejos, han sido acercados por la sangre de Cristo. Porque él es nuestra paz. De dos pueblos hizo uno solo, al derribar la pared intermedia de separación... mediante la cruz... Por medio de él, unos y otros tenemos acceso al Padre en un mismo Espíritu. Por lo tanto, ustedes ya no son extranjeros ni advenedizos, sino conciudadanos de los santos y miembros de la familia de Dios, y están edificados sobre el fundamento de los apóstoles y profetas, cuya principal piedra angular es Jesucristo mismo"(Efesios 2:13-14, 16b, 18-20).

ORACIÓN: Padre, ayúdanos a amarnos unos a otros con el amor de Jesús. Amén.

Dra. Kari Vo

Para reflexionar:

* ¿A quién consideras "los otros"? ¿Qué haría falta para que pienses en ellos como "nosotros"?

* ¿Qué podrías hacer hoy para comenzar a verlos como parte de "nosotros"?

© Copyright 2020 Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones. Que a través de estos devocionales, la Palabra de Dios te refresque en tu diario caminar.
¿A quién consideras "los otros"? ¿Qué haría falta para que pienses en ellos como "nosotros"?

Nuestro Pan Diario - Fortaleza para el viaje

Fortaleza para el viaje

La escritura de hoy: 1 Reyes 19:1-9
La Biblia en un año: 1 Reyes 19–20; Lucas 23:1-25

… he aquí luego un ángel le tocó, y le dijo: Levántate, come.

— 1 Reyes 19:5

Un verano, enfrenté lo que parecía una tarea imposible: entregar un material escrito para una fecha inminente. Después de pasar varios días sola, luchando para colocar las palabras en las hojas, estaba exhausta y desanimada, con ganas de abandonar. Una sabia amiga me preguntó: «¿Cuándo fue la última vez que te sentiste renovada? Tal vez necesitas descansar y disfrutar de una buena comida».

De inmediato, supe que tenía razón. Su consejo me hizo pensar en Elías y el terrible mensaje que había recibido de Jezabel (1 Reyes 19:2); aunque mi situación estaba a años luz de la experiencia del profeta. Después de que Elías venció a los falsos profetas en el Monte Carmelo, Jezabel le avisó que lo capturaría y lo mataría. Desesperado, anhelaba morirse. Pero luego, durmió bien y un ángel lo visitó dos veces para llevarle comida. Cuando Dios le renovó su fuerza física, pudo seguir el viaje.

Cuando un «largo camino [nos] resta» (v. 7), quizá necesitemos descansar y disfrutar de una buena comida saludable. El cansancio y el hambre nos hacen fácilmente vulnerables al temor y la decepción. Pero cuando Dios suple nuestras necesidades físicas con sus recursos, podemos dar el próximo paso en nuestro servicio a Él.

De:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflexiona y ora

Dios creador, gracias por nuestras limitaciones, que nos recuerdan que te necesitamos. Ayúdanos a servirte con alegría.

¿Cuándo necesitaste desacelerar y recibir fuerzas para seguir? ¿Cómo puedes percibir signos de agotamiento mientras sirves a Dios?

© 2020 Ministerios Nuestro Pan Diario
Un verano, enfrenté lo que parecía una tarea imposible: entregar un material escrito para una fecha inminente.