The Daily Lectionary for WEDNESDAY, August 12, 2020

The Daily Lectionary

WEDNESDAY, August 12, 2020

Psalm 28; Genesis 40:1-23; Matthew 8:23-27

(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)

(Semicontinuous Reading Plan)

Psalm 28

God hears my pleadings

1  To you, Lord, I call;
     you are my Rock,
     do not turn a deaf ear to me.
   For if you remain silent,
     I will be like those who go down to the pit.
2  Hear my cry for mercy
     as I call to you for help,
   as I lift up my hands
     toward your Most Holy Place.

3  Do not drag me away with the wicked,
     with those who do evil,
   who speak cordially with their neighbors
     but harbor malice in their hearts.
4  Repay them for their deeds
     and for their evil work;
   repay them for what their hands have done
     and bring back on them what they deserve.

5  Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord
     and what his hands have done,
   he will tear them down
     and never build them up again.

6  Praise be to the Lord,
     for he has heard my cry for mercy.
7  The Lord is my strength and my shield;
     my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
   My heart leaps for joy,
     and with my song I praise him.

8  The Lord is the strength of his people,
     a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
9  Save your people and bless your inheritance;
     be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Genesis 40:1-23

The dreams of two prisoners

40:1 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.

After they had been in custody for some time, 5 each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”

8 “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.”

12 “This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. 14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. 15 I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”

16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

18 “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.”

20 Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand— 22 but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

Matthew 8:23-27

Jesus stills the storm

8:23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

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, August 12, 2020
Psalm 28; Genesis 40:1-23; Matthew 8:23-27

The Daily Prayer for WEDNESDAY, August 12, 2020

The Daily Prayer

WEDNESDAY, August 12, 2020

Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, said, “Neither revolutions nor faith can be won without keen suffering. For me, Christ was not to be bought for thirty pieces of silver but with my heart’s blood. We buy not cheap in this market.”

Loving God, your goodness is all around us. But sometimes it seems overshadowed by pain, death, and suffering. Assure us in times of doubt that you are the God of resurrection. May our lips sing your praise, and may our lives be a living sacrifice to you. Amen.

Verse of the Day for WEDNESDAY, August 12, 2020

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Read all of 1 Corinthians 6

Listen to 1 Corinthians 6

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

LHM Daily Devotions — "Jealousy"

"Jealousy"

I ask, then, has God rejected His people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. ... Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

Romans 11:1-2a, 13-15

Have you ever been jealous of another person's faith—in a good way? Do you know anyone who seems to rise above it all (life's many trials and little miseries), and you know deep down it's because they lean on God in faith as their Protector and Guide?

This idea of jealousy as a good thing appears to be what the apostle Paul is saying here. Though the Jews have long been a "disobedient and contrary people" (Romans 10:21b), Paul is earnest in his concern for their spiritual well-being. As he ministers to the Gentiles, and their numbers increase as the Holy Spirit gives them faith, he wants his Jewish brothers and sisters to yearn for—be jealous of—what the Gentiles have: a true and lasting faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

This is no idle intention. In fact, Paul is so earnest for his fellow Jews' deliverance he said he would reject his own salvation in exchange for them coming to faith.

"I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen" (Romans 9:1-5).

The Jews have it all Paul says here. Yet their persistent striving for a Law-based salvation earned by their own works blinded them to the promised Messiah in their midst—Jesus—their Brother according to the flesh. Plain as day, God as Man, He was a stumbling block which many of them could not see past (see Romans 9:30-10:4).

Many in this world are struck by a similar blindness. May our lives as believers make them jealous for the faith we have in Jesus.

Heavenly Father, let our lives burn bright with a faith and love that draws others to Jesus. In His Name we pray. Amen. 

Paul Schreiber

Reflection Questions:

1. Who do you know personally and deeply admire? What do you most appreciate about him or her?

2. Is it possible Paul might have wanted to be an apostle to the Jews more than the Gentiles?

3. Do you think your Christian faith is apparent to others? 

Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved.
Who do you know personally and deeply admire? What do you most appreciate about him or her?

Standing Strong Through the Storm — THE STRENGTH OF PERSECUTION

THE STRENGTH OF PERSECUTION

Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

— 2 Corinthians 1:9-11

The conclusion of the message on the book of Esther from a house church pastor in China:

I wish the book of Esther ended before chapter nine, but it does not. The book ends with the Jews taking revenge on all their enemies everywhere. They arranged a kind of amnesty for terrorism. For a day, they were allowed to kill anyone who had oppressed them and not be prosecuted for it. Thousands probably died. It was a kind of rough justice, but what does rough justice solve? It just makes the relatives of those slain, burn with hatred, and they train their children to seek more revenge, and the weary cycle of bloodletting is accelerated.

I would apply this to the suffering church this way. Surviving a persecution situation involves desperation, but that desperation can turn into harshness and heresy if one is not careful. The terrible superstitions that came into the church in venerating the bones of martyrs were a response to persecution. Persecution brings martyrs. To revere martyrs is one thing. But to worship their relics as if they are a special lever to move the hand of God with—that is terrible.

Why is the book of Esther in the Bible? Because it tells us that God helps His people. If this decree had gone through, then a holocaust would have taken place and the will of God for the world would have been lost. We would have had no Bible otherwise. God was not going to let that happen, and He stretched forth His mighty arm to prevent it. The good news of His gospel must be spread. So reading about how God intervened must have given great increase to a Jew’s faith, as it increases ours too. God intervenes to save and get His will done. And His will is that all come to know Him and love Him.

So persecution can strengthen our faith, as we see God delivering His people powerfully and getting His will done.

I stand before you now, a living witness to the strength of suffering. We come out stronger, not because of our faith, but because we see God deliver us in mighty ways. We have to; otherwise, we would be dead and gone. Praise God for persecution, for building His church no matter what the opposition.

Let us have the courage of Esther, and say, “If I perish, I perish.” But let us remember that our courage is decisive only because God is mighty, and stretches out His arm to deliver us when we cry.

RESPONSE: Today I will focus on God’s deliverance and stand strong trusting Him for the future.

PRAYER: Pray today for the persecuted church. Pray they will find their strength only in the Lord.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.

Un dia a la Vez — La rebeldía

La rebeldía

Preserva también a tu siervo de las soberbias; que no se enseñoreen de mí; entonces seré íntegro, y estaré limpio de gran rebelión.

— Salmo 19:13, RV-60

Ayer aprendimos que debemos limpiar y poner en orden nuestro cuerpo que, desde el punto de vista espiritual, es la casa de Dios.

Sé que a veces cuando no entendemos mucho el porqué de las cosas que nos pide Dios, se levanta cierta rebeldía en uno. Se trata de algo que nos dice: «¿Y por qué tengo que hacerlo?». Entonces, si lo hacemos, quizá sea a medias y cambiemos ciertas cosas. No obstante, nos quedamos con lo que nos gusta, que a menudo es lo más pecaminoso. Es de lamentar que no entendamos que el mal es para nosotros mismos, ya que esa actitud no nos llevará a ningún final feliz.

Todos tenemos algo de rebeldes. A ninguno nos agrada que nos digan que debemos cambiar. Pensamos que nadie tiene derecho sobre nosotros. Es más, se nos olvida que si hemos rendido la vida a Dios, Él tiene autoridad sobre ti y sobre mí y la tiene como Padre.

¿Qué es lo que levanta en ti la rebeldía? ¿Salir de tu zona de comodidad y hacer cambios radicales? Recuerda que esto te traerá bendición.

Dios es un Dios de orden, por eso no actúa en el desorden. Por lo tanto, si Dios no trabaja en nosotros cuando hay desorden, ¿por qué no ordenamos nuestra vida?

¡Ah! Tengamos presentes que los que trabajan en el desorden son los demonios.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
Sé que a veces cuando no entendemos mucho el porqué de las cosas que nos pide Dios, se levanta cierta rebeldía en uno. Se trata de algo que nos dice: «¿Y por qué tengo que hacerlo?».

Devocional CPTLN del 12 de agosto de 2020 - Celos

ALIMENTO DIARIO

Celos

12 de Agosto de 2020

Por lo tanto, pregunto: ¿Acaso Dios desechó a su pueblo? ¡De ninguna manera! Porque también yo soy israelita, descendiente de Abrahán y de la tribu de Benjamín. Dios no desechó a su pueblo, al cual conoció desde un principio... Ahora les hablo a ustedes, a los que no son judíos. Por cuanto yo soy el apóstol de ustedes, honro mi ministerio. Yo quisiera poner celosos a los de mi sangre, y de esa manera salvar a algunos de ellos. Porque si su exclusión trajo como resultado la reconciliación del mundo, ¿qué resultará de su admisión, sino vida de entre los muertos?

— Romanos 11:1-2a, 13-15

¿Alguna vez has estado celoso, en el buen sentido, de la fe de otra persona? ¿Conoces a alguien que parece superar todo (las muchas pruebas y miserias de la vida), y sabes que en el fondo es porque se apoya con fe en Dios como su protector y guía?

Esta idea de los celos como algo bueno parece ser a lo que el apóstol Pablo se está refiriendo aquí. Aunque durante mucho tiempo los judíos habían sido un "pueblo rebelde y contestatario" (Romanos 10:21b), Pablo se preocupa sinceramente por su bienestar espiritual. A medida que el número de los gentiles a quienes ministra va aumentando por la fe que les da el Espíritu Santo, también quiere que sus hermanos judíos anhelen y estén celosos de lo que los gentiles tienen: una fe verdadera y duradera en Jesucristo como su Señor y Salvador.

Pablo es tan sincero por la liberación de sus hermanos judíos, que hasta dijo que rechazaría su propia salvación a cambio de que llegaran a la fe: "Digo la verdad en Cristo, no miento. Mi conciencia me da testimonio en el Espíritu Santo: tengo una gran tristeza y un continuo dolor en mi corazón. Porque desearía ser yo mismo maldecido y separado de Cristo, por amor a mis hermanos, por los de mi propia raza, que son israelitas. De ellos son la adopción, la gloria, el pacto, la promulgación de la ley, el culto y las promesas. De ellos son los patriarcas, y de ellos, desde el punto de vista humano, vino Cristo, el cual es Dios sobre todas las cosas. ¡Bendito sea por siempre! Amén" (Romanos 9:1-5).

Los judíos tienen todo lo que Pablo dice aquí. Sin embargo, su esfuerzo persistente por una salvación basada en sus propias obras los cegó ante el Mesías prometido en medio de ellos, Jesús, su Hermano según la carne. Claro como el día, Dios como hombre, Él era un obstáculo que muchos de ellos no podían ver en el pasado (ver Romanos 9:30-10:4).

Muchos en este mundo son golpeados por una ceguera similar. Que nuestras vidas como creyentes los pongan celosos por la fe que tenemos en Jesús.

ORACIÓN: Padre celestial, permite que nuestras vidas brillen con una fe y un amor que atraigan a otros a Jesús. En su nombre oramos. Amén.

Paul Schreiber

Para reflexionar:

* ¿Admiras profundamente a alguna persona? ¿Qué es lo que más aprecias de él o ella?

* ¿Crees que tu fe cristiana es evidente para quienes te rodean?

© Copyright 2020 Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones. Que a través de estos devocionales, la Palabra de Dios te refresque en tu diario caminar.
¿Admiras profundamente a alguna persona? ¿Qué es lo que más aprecias de él o ella?

Ministérios Pão Diário - Ajuda do céu

Ajuda do céu

Escritura de hoje: Josué 10:6-15
Bíblia em um ano: Salmos 84–86; Romanos 12

…Certamente o Senhor lutou por Israel naquele dia!

— Josué 10:14

SOS, o sinal em código Morse, foi criado em 1905, porque os marinheiros precisavam de uma forma para indicar o perigo extremo. O sinal ganhou fama, em 1910, ao ser usado pelo navio Steamship Kentucky, que estava afundando, e isso salvou a vida de todas as 46 pessoas a bordo.

O SOS é uma invenção recente, mas o grito de socorro é tão antigo quando a humanidade. É mencionado no Antigo Testamento, na história de Josué, que enfrentou a oposição dos israelitas (9:18) e terreno difícil (3:15-17) durante mais de 14 anos, enquanto o povo lentamente conquistava e se estabelecia na terra que lhes fora prometida. Durante esta luta “o Senhor estava com Josué” (6:27).

Em Josué 10, os israelitas vão ao auxílio dos gibeonitas, aliados que estavam sendo atacados por cinco reis. Josué sabia que precisava da ajuda do Senhor para derrotar tantos inimigos poderosos (v.12). Deus respondeu com chuva de granizo, e até parando o sol a fim de dar mais tempo para Israel derrotar o inimigo. Josué 10:14 relata: “…o Senhor lutou por Israel naquele dia”.

Se você está em meio a uma situação desafiadora, pode enviar um SOS para Deus. Embora a ajuda possa ser diferente da que Josué recebeu: talvez ela venha por meio de um trabalho inesperado, um médico compreensivo ou paz em meio ao luto. Encoraje-se, pois estas são as maneiras do Senhor responder ao seu pedido de socorro e lutar por você.

Por:  Lisa M. Samra

Refletir & Orar

Obrigado, Pai, por andares comigo nessa jornada difícil e me ouvires quando clamo por ti.

Quando clamamos a Deus por socorro, podemos confiar que Ele estará conosco.

© 2020 Ministérios Pão Diário
SOS, o sinal em código Morse, foi criado em 1905, porque os marinheiros precisavam de uma forma para indicar o perigo extremo. O sinal ganhou fama, em 1910, ao ser usado pelo navio Steamship Kentucky, que estava afundando, e isso salvou a vida de todas as 46 pessoas a bordo.