The Daily Lectionary for WEDNESDAY, July 1, 2020

The Daily Lectionary

WEDNESDAY, July 1, 2020

Psalm 119:161-168; Jeremiah 18:1-11; Matthew 11:20-24

(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)

Psalm 119:161-168

Loving God’s law

161 Rulers persecute me without cause,
       but my heart trembles at your word.
162 I rejoice in your promise
       like one who finds great spoil.
163 I hate and detest falsehood
       but I love your law.
164 Seven times a day I praise you
       for your righteous laws.
165 Great peace have those who love your law,
       and nothing can make them stumble.
166 I wait for your salvation, Lord,
       and I follow your commands.
167 I obey your statutes,
       for I love them greatly.
168 I obey your precepts and your statutes,
       for all my ways are known to you.

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Jeremiah at the potter’s wheel

18:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’

Matthew 11:20-24

Testing the spirits

11:20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

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, July 1, 2020
Psalm 119:161-168; Jeremiah 18:1-11; Matthew 11:20-24

The Daily Prayer for WEDNESDAY, July 1, 2020

The Daily Prayer

WEDNESDAY, July 1, 2020

Irish missionary Columbanus wrote, “Seek then the highest wisdom, not by arguments in words but by the perfection of your life; not by speech but by the faith that comes from simplicity of heart.”

Thank you, Lord, for your mercy and forgiveness. Help us to hear your word and to follow you today. Numb our ears to the persistent call of idols like vanity, consumerism, power, and pride. Enable us to lead lives tempered by the awareness of others’ needs and propelled by your love. Amen.

Verse of the Day for WEDNESDAY, July 1, 2020

Romans 12:3

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

Read all of Romans 12

Listen to Romans 12

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 01 de julio de 2020

Seamos instrumentos

Todo lo que te viniere a la mano para hacer, hazlo según tus fuerzas.

— Eclesiastés 9:10

Me tomé la tarea de investigar lo que es un instrumento musical y llegué a esta conclusión: Un instrumento musical es un conjunto de piezas que se disponen en un todo de manera que un intérprete logre producir sonidos musicales. Si lo analizamos, es posible que de cualquier objeto se pueda obtener sonidos. Sin embargo, para que sea musical, el sonido que produce debe combinar la melodía, el ritmo y la armonía.

Dejando este análisis a un lado, quiero hacer un paralelo a lo que nosotros podemos ser en las manos de Dios. La Palabra nos enseña que a todos se nos han dado dones y talentos. Muchas veces ni sabemos que los tenemos. Así que un día alguien nos los descubre o nosotros mismos nos damos cuenta que ciertas cosas que hacemos nos salen bien y le gustan a la gente.

Si un instrumento musical es un conjunto de piezas que se combinan para producir sonidos melódicos, rítmicos y armónicos, tú y yo tenemos esa combinación perfecta para poner en acción el don que puso Dios en nosotros.

Además, si a diferencia de que en principio cualquier cosa que produzca sonido puede ser un instrumento, te recuerdo que tú no eres cualquier cosa, sino que eres un hijo de Dios creado a su imagen y semejanza.

Valórate y pídele al Señor que te revele cuál es ese talento y empieza a desarrollarlo ya.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
Si lo analizamos, es posible que de cualquier objeto se pueda obtener sonidos.

Standing Strong Through the Storm - Wednesday, July 1, 2020

OUR SACRIFICES, NOT OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

…now God is building you, as living stones into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are God’s holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ.

— 1 Peter 2:5

Our Open Doors colleague, Ron Boyd-MacMillan, shares the following insight from his teaching, “Why I Need to Encounter the Persecuted Church.”

When I lived in Los Angeles, I was always stressed about one key question—am I fulfilling my potential? Everywhere I drove, I was surrounded by advertisements telling me that I was not earning enough, that I needed to have an “attitude transplant.” I worried about whether I should take more courses in the elusive search for more success. My friends were actors and actresses desperate to attract the attention of some film producer, and working a couple of part-time jobs in the vain hope that someday, they will be discovered. I too always felt unfulfilled.

But is the purpose of my life really to maximize my potential? A visit to the persecuted soon cured me of that idea. This fact becomes clear—fulfilling one’s potential cannot possibly be the purpose to life because so few actually get the opportunity to do so!

Look at the millions of Christians in China’s house churches. All of them live lives in which—for want of a better term—they are trapped. They do not have choices. Because of their Christianity, many are denied access to education, or are barred from developing promising careers. I sat in a house church of seventy peasant Christians, and wondered, how many great scientists, violin players, or philosophers could be in here, but they and the world will never know, because they never had the chance to study, learn algebra, or hold a musical instrument.

Would God really make a world where only a tiny minority could fulfill their life’s purpose, and doom the rest of us to a lifetime of frustration?

We were studying 1st Peter one night, and suddenly I had an insight while reading chapter 2 verse 5. It struck me: God makes each life that is yielded to him a living stone in building his temple. That’s why we are alive. That’s the purpose of it all. We are all made to become a stone in his spiritual temple, his eternal kingdom. And everybody gets the opportunity to become a “living stone” just by virtue of giving our lives to him. We are priests because we offer a sacrifice. That sacrifice is the only one we can make—that of our lives. And so we find the purpose for which God made the world—to build a kingdom of worshippers for Himself. That old man in the house church whose back is bent double from a life in the rice paddies is a living stone. That woman whose baby was taken away during the Cultural Revolution because she was a Christian is also a living stone. No one wastes their life who gives it to Jesus. They are placed into an eternal structure—the kingdom of God, and will rejoice forever in that status.

No one goes unfulfilled because God builds his kingdom on our sacrifices, not on our achievements.

RESPONSE: Today I will be fulfilled as a “living stone” for God and offer Him the sacrifice of my life.

PRAYER: Thank You Lord that I don’t need to spend my life seeking fulfillment other than in You!

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 - July 1, 2020 - "Frustration"

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"Frustration"

July 1, 2020

For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the Law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a Law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the Law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the Law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

— Romans 7:14-25

Paul talks about a situation that we are all very familiar with—a life where we try to do the good things that God wants us to do, but we keep falling into evil. For example, we start the day trying to show love and patience as we take care of our families, but then we find ourselves right back in the familiar cycle of complaining and arguing and yelling. We try to do our best at work, but some disaster ruins our good plans and we do the bare minimum just to get to the end of the day. No matter what we do, we find that sin is right there with us. There is a fight going on inside us, between the power of sin and the good, new nature God has planted in us.

This is normal for Christians! Paul was an apostle, and even he had this problem. Look at the verbs; Paul is writing in the present tense. So if you recognize this fight in yourself, you are in good company.

This drives Paul crazy, and he says, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" He knows that he cannot get free by his own power or strength. If you have tried to free yourself, you know that also. Nothing is going to end this fight except for the power of God.

That is why Paul says, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Paul knows that even though there is still fighting inside, Jesus won the war at the cross. There He defeated sin, death, and the devil through His own suffering and death. When He rose from the dead, He made all of us who trust in Him alive again as well—alive with a new kind of life, the life of the children of God. Now the Holy Spirit is living in us, and He is remaking us in the image of Jesus.

Meanwhile, we are still frustrated. But we live in hope because we know that when Jesus takes us to be with Him forever, there will be no more fighting. His victory will be complete—and we will see it and rejoice.

THE PRAYER: Lord, help me with this frustrating fight. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. What do you do when you're frustrated?

2. Is there one area of your Christian life that is really bugging you right now?

3. How do you find hope and strength in Jesus?

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).
What do you do when you're frustrated?

Devocional CPTLN del 01 de julio de 2020 - Frustración

ALIMENTO DIARIO

Frustración

01 de Julio de 2020

Sabemos que la ley es espiritual. Pero yo soy un simple ser carnal, que ha sido vendido como esclavo al pecado. No entiendo qué me pasa, pues no hago lo que quiero, sino lo que aborrezco. Y si hago lo que no quiero hacer, compruebo entonces que la ley es buena. De modo que no soy yo quien hace aquello, sino el pecado que habita en mí. Yo sé que en mí, esto es, en mi naturaleza humana, no habita el bien; porque el desear el bien está en mí, pero no el hacerlo. Porque no hago el bien que quiero, sino el mal que no quiero. Y si hago lo que no quiero, ya no soy yo quien lo hace, sino el pecado que habita en mí. Entonces, aunque quiero hacer el bien, descubro esta ley: que el mal está en mí. Porque, según el hombre interior, me deleito en la ley de Dios; pero encuentro que hay otra ley en mis miembros, la cual se rebela contra la ley de mi mente y me tiene cautivo a la ley del pecado que está en mis miembros. ¡Miserable de mí! ¿Quién me librará de este cuerpo de muerte? Doy gracias a Dios, por medio de nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Así que yo mismo, con la mente, sirvo a la ley de Dios, pero con la naturaleza humana sirvo a la ley del pecado.

— Romanos 7:14-25

Pablo habla de una situación con la que todos estamos muy familiarizados: tratamos de hacer las cosas buenas que Dios quiere que hagamos, pero seguimos cayendo en el mal. Por ejemplo, comenzamos el día tratando de mostrar amor y paciencia a nuestras familias, pero luego pronto caemos en el conocido ciclo de la queja, la discusión y los gritos. Tratamos de dar lo mejor en el trabajo, pero algún contratiempo arruina nuestros planes y terminamos haciendo lo mínimo para llegar al final del día.

Por más que nos esforcemos, el pecado está siempre con nosotros. Constantemente luchamos con el poder del pecado y la nueva naturaleza que Dios ha plantado en nosotros. ¡Esto es normal! Pablo era un apóstol, e incluso él tuvo ese problema. Si reconoces esta pelea en ti mismo, estás en buena compañía.

Esto lo vuelve loco a Pablo, por lo que dice: "¡Miserable de mí! ¿Quién me librará de este cuerpo de muerte?" Él sabe que no puede liberarse por su propio poder o fuerza. Nada puede terminar esta pelea excepto el poder de Dios. Es por eso que sigue diciendo: "Doy gracias a Dios, por medio de nuestro Señor Jesucristo". Pablo sabe que, aunque todavía tiene luchas internas, Jesús ganó la guerra en la cruz. Allí derrotó al pecado, a la muerte y al diablo a través de su propio sufrimiento y muerte. Cuando resucitó de entre los muertos, hizo que todos los que confiamos en él recibamos una nueva vida, la vida de los hijos de Dios. Ahora el Espíritu Santo está viviendo en nosotros y nos está rehaciendo a la imagen de Jesús.

Si bien todavía nos sentimos frustrados, ahora vivimos con esperanza porque sabemos que cuando Jesús nos lleve a estar con él para siempre, no habrá más peleas. Su victoria será completa, y en ella nos alegraremos.

ORACIÓN: Señor, ayúdame con esta lucha frustrante. En el nombre de Jesús. Amén.

Dra. Kari Vo

Para reflexionar:

* ¿Hay un área de tu vida que te moleste?

* ¿Cómo encuentras esperanza y fortaleza en Jesús?

© Copyright 2020 Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones. Que a través de estos devocionales, la Palabra de Dios te refresque en tu diario caminar.
¿Hay un área de tu vida que te moleste?

Ministérios Pão Diário - Como Deus é?

Como Deus é?

Escritura de hoje: Hebreus 1:1-10
Bíblia em um ano: Jó 20–21; Atos 10:24-48

O Filho irradia a glória de Deus, expressa de forma exata o que Deus é…

— Hebreus 1:3

Para comemorar uma ocasião especial, meu marido me levou a uma galeria de arte para escolher uma pintura como presente. Escolhi um pequeno quadro de um riacho fluindo por entre uma floresta. O riacho tomava boa parte da tela e a maior parte do céu não aparecia. Entretanto, o reflexo na água revelava o Sol, as copas das árvores e a atmosfera nebulosa. A única forma de “ver” o céu era olhando a superfície da água.

No sentido espiritual, Jesus é como o riacho. Quando queremos ver a Deus, olhamos para Jesus. O escritor de Hebreus disse que Jesus “…expressa de forma exata o que Deus é…” (v.3). Embora possamos conhecer fatos sobre Deus através de declarações diretas já expressas na Bíblia, como “Deus é amor”, podemos aprofundar o nosso entendimento vendo como Deus agiria se enfrentasse os mesmos problemas que temos na Terra. Sendo Deus em forma humana, foi isso o que Jesus nos mostrou.

Na tentação, Ele revelou a santidade de Deus. Confrontando a obscuridade espiritual, demonstrou a autoridade divina. Lidando com os problemas das pessoas, mostrou-nos a sabedoria de Deus. Em Sua morte, Ele ilustrou o amor de Deus.

Embora não possamos compreender tudo sobre Deus — Ele é ilimitado e nosso pensamento é limitado — ao olharmos para Cristo não duvidamos do Seu caráter.

Por:  rebekawerner

Refletir & Orar

Querido Deus, obrigado por criares um jeito de te conhecermos. Ajuda-nos a nos aproximarmos de ti, olhando para Jesus.

Quando Deus fala as coisas acontecem. Tenha fé!

© 2020 Ministérios Pão Diário
Para comemorar uma ocasião especial, meu marido me levou a uma galeria de arte para escolher uma pintura como presente.