The Daily Bible Readings for SATURDAY, September 5, 2020

The Daily Readings

SATURDAY, September 5, 2020

Psalm 149; Exodus 11:1-10; Matthew 23:29-36

The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV)

Today's Verse-of-the-Day: Matthew 28:18-20

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Today's Readings:

Psalm 149

Sing praise in the congregation

1 Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.

2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.

4 For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.

5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand;

7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;

8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;

9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord.

Exodus 11:1-10

Moses announces the last plague

11:1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.

2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver and jewels of gold.

3 And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people.

4 And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:

5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.

6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.

7 But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

8 And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.

9 And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.

10 And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

Matthew 23:29-36

The martyrdom of the prophets

23:29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,

30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.

32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

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, King James Version (KJV).

The Daily Bible Readings are selected from the Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, 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 Readings for SATURDAY, September 5, 2020
Psalm 149; Exodus 11:1-10; Matthew 23:29-36 (KJV)

Verse of the Day for SATURDAY, September 5, 2020

Matthew 28:18-20

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Read all of Matthew 28

Listen to Matthew 28

The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV).

Ichthus Ministries Daily Devotions — God's House, Our Church

God's House, Our Church

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers." And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.

— Matthew 21:12-14

The church Jesus founded, the church He wants today, the church He will bless eternally, has room and redemption for everyone of us. He showed this in Jerusalem, where He purified the temple. He not only preached the Law, but He also practiced His love, for we read: "And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them." He had compassion on the sorrowing, the afflicted, even on the blind beggars and lowly lame.

My beloved, He wants you to approach Him—no matter how crushing your grief, no matter how bad your sins. Oh, that in this day of fashionable, class-conscious churches we would remember these four foundations of the faith: first, "God shows no partiality" (Romans 2:11); second, "all have sinned" (Romans 3:23a); third, God "desires all people to be saved" (1 Timothy 2:4a); and forth, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Oh, that every sermon, every Sunday, would repeat the blessed Redeemer's invitation and pledge: "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out" (John 6:37)!

Jesus died for you, and He wants you to live eternally for Him. He has help and healing for you, pardon for your transgressions, companionship in your loneliness, strength in your weakness, and love in any lovelessness that may surround you. His Holy Spirit is ready to make you a new creature blessed by joy and peace.

These then are the truths we must preach—not those of new sensations, but the news of salvation, not race theories but grace verities, not the social gospel but the saving Gospel. Let us always remember not man's merit but Jesus' mercy—a mercy not working for earthly revolution but for spiritual regeneration. And let us be praying, always praying, for the Holy Spirit's cleansing of our nation's Christian churches.

By the simple Gospel of redemption which I have offered you in the Savior's Name, the church today can change the world just as surely as it did in the apostolic first century and in the Reformation's sixteenth century.

By God's grace, may we all live lives more worthy of Jesus whose life, death, and resurrection have won our forgiveness and the gift of eternal life.

Heavenly Father, send Your Spirit to believers everywhere in the world that they may love You and their neighbor more faithfully. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Walter A. Maier

Reflection Questions:

1. How has your church changed over the last 10-20 years? Are these changes helping it reach others for Christ?

2. Why would there be places for money-changers and those who sold things in God's Jerusalem temple?

3. What can you do as a church member to help your church flourish in its mission?

Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
The church Jesus founded, the church He wants today, the church He will bless eternally, has room and redemption for everyone of us.

Standing Strong Through the Storm — REAL LIFE FORGIVENESS

REAL LIFE FORGIVENESS

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

— Luke 6:37

Alexander Puerta has seen more than his share of tragedy. Raised on a small farm in Urabá region of northern Colombia, he was 17 when his father was murdered by an angry neighbor.

At 19, Alex nearly died of malaria. He called on a Christian evangelist to pray for him and experienced a miraculous recovery. That convinced him to accept Christ. He soon became a fervent evangelist himself and took a job at the Rancho Amelia banana plantation in Urabá.

A guerrilla army operating in the area mistakenly believed Rancho Amelia harbored a paramilitary squad. One morning in September 1995, they ambushed a bus carrying plantation employees, tied them up and threw them face down into a gully. The guerrillas then opened fire with machine guns on the helpless workers.

In the midst of the shooting, a bullet struck Alex Puerta at the base of his left eye, fractured his skull from the inside and exited, destroying his right eye and cheekbone. Amazingly, Alex did not lose consciousness, despite the excruciating pain and nearly suffocating in his own blood.

“The guerrillas came down the rows to find those who were still moving, finishing them off with a machete blow to the neck,” he recalls. “They reached me and I told them that Christ loved them. ‘This one’s alive!’ they said, and hit me twice very hard. They broke two teeth and cut off an ear lobe, but the machete did not penetrate my neck. Then they left.

“At that moment I heard a voice say, ‘Fight for your life.’ I felt such a strength and vitality that I succeeded in breaking my bonds. It hurt, but God gave me strength. When help arrived, they found me sitting up.” Alex was the only victim to survive the massacre. Twenty-five of his Rancho Amelia co-workers, including several women, lay dead in the gully.

Survival has been difficult. Alex underwent five surgeries to rebuild his shattered face. Doctors told him that he would never see again. He remembers the long months of convalescence with nothing to do but sit at home with only the family dog.

Today Alex serves as a volunteer chaplain of Prison Fellowship, preaching in chapel services at the Bellavista National Penitentiary and counseling inmates. Some of the prisoners with whom he has shared the gospel are former guerrillas. At least one, he has learned, was involved in the massacre at Rancho Amelia.

Alex let it be known that he has forgiven each of the assailants who blinded him and killed his friends. “If one decides to follow Jesus, the foundation is forgiveness,” he says. “Without it, there is no real Christian life.”

Recently, Alex accepted an invitation from Open Doors to become a regular trainer for Standing Strong Through the Storm seminars offered throughout Colombia. Feedback from seminar participants indicates that Alex is particularly effective in teaching about forgiveness.

RESPONSE: Today I will obey the Lord and forgive everyone who has hurt me.

PRAYER: Pray for Alex as he teaches SSTS seminars in Colombia. Pray his students will also forgive.

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

The NIV Couples Devotional — Conquering Fears in Marriage

Conquering Fears in Marriage

Hebrews 11:1—12:3

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

— Hebrews 11:1

It’s scary to tell someone, “I love you.” It’s even more frightening to ask, “Will you marry me?”

Still even more terrifying is the answer: “Yes.”

Think about the weak-in-the-knees words “I do” and what can follow them: buying a house, having children, moving the family to a different state, taking a new job…The list of intimidating, heart-pounding, fear-provoking aspects of marriage go on and on.

Responsibility really hit me when Kelli and I started having children. I thought, “Now, not only is my life inextricably linked to my wife’s, and not only do I carry the responsibility of owning property, but now I am responsible for the well-being, provision, and growth of other little human beings.” What a scary thought!

It seems that in every new stage in life, the stakes get higher.

When you stop and think about it, though, all of the Christian life takes tremendous courage as we commit our lives to God and join others who are called to be God’s people. Though we cannot see God, we can be confident of God’s goodness, God’s power, God’s presence, and God’s wisdom. And yet we still must take that fearful first step of trust.

As Christians, we trust the unseen and base all our decisions about love and marriage on God’s invisible reality and the promises he has made. To live the Christian life and to make choices (not only for me but for my entire family) based on a God we can’t see is tough. But the Bible tells us that this is the only wise choice to make.

As we look to Scripture for guidance, we can draw comfort and courage from heroes of faith such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab—people Kierkegaard called the unsurpassed “Knights of Faith.” After commending these and a few other Old Testament believers specifically (see Hebrews 11:4–31), the writer of Hebrews affirmed the many others who had faith to conquer kingdoms, administer justice, shut the mouths of lions and rout foreign armies (see Hebrews 11:32–38). These heroes weren’t lauded because they were strong in themselves, but because they trusted God. They were weak as they considered the tasks ahead of them, but when they trusted God, he turned their weakness into strength.

Likewise we are to trust God as we face the risky and intimidating aspects of married life. For as Hebrews 12:1 assures us, we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, and therefore we have the strength and courage to throw off everything that hinders us and moves forward in love, confidence, and trust. This is the unseen reality that makes sense of our choice to step forward into marriage despite our fears.

David and Kelli Trujillo

Let’s Talk

• What are the toughest choices or biggest risks we’ve ever had to take in our lives? In our marriage?
• What is our vision for our life together? What fears do we have? What hopes do we have?
• How can we help each other live like heroes of faith as we face fears and risks in the years to come?

It’s scary to tell someone, “I love you.” It’s even more frightening to ask, “Will you marry me?”

John Piper Devotional — The Goal of Christ’s Love

The Goal of Christ’s Love

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory.”

— John 17:24

Believers in Jesus are precious to God (we're his bride!). And he loves us so much that he will not allow our preciousness to become our god.

God does indeed make much of us (adoption!), but he does so in a way that draws us out of ourselves to enjoy his greatness.

Test yourself. If Jesus came to spend the day with you, sat down beside you on the couch, and said, “I really love you,” what would you focus on the rest of the day that you spend together?

It seems to me that too many songs and sermons leave us with the wrong answer. They leave the impression that the heights of our joy would be in the recurrent feeling of being loved. “He loves me!” “He loves me!” This is joy indeed. But not the heights and not the focus.

What are we saying with the words “I am loved”? What do we mean? What is this “being loved”?

Would not the greatest, most Christ-exalting joy be found in watching Jesus all day and bursting with, “You’re amazing!” “You are amazing!”

• He answers the hardest question, and his wisdom is amazing.
• He touches a filthy, oozing sore, and his compassion is amazing.
• He raises a dead lady at the medical examiner’s office, and his power is amazing.
• He predicts the afternoon’s events, and his foreknowledge is amazing.
• He sleeps during an earthquake, and his fearlessness is amazing.
• He says, “Before Abraham was, I AM,” and his words are amazing.

We walk around with him utterly amazed at what we are seeing.

Is not his love for us his eagerness to do for us all he must do (including die for us) so that we can marvel at him and not be incinerated by him? Redemption, propitiation, forgiveness, justification, reconciliation—all these have to happen. They are the act of love.

But the goal of love that makes those acts loving is that we be with him and see his jaw-dropping glory and be astounded. In those moments we forget ourselves and see and feel him.

So I am urging pastors and teachers: Push people through the acts of Christ’s love to the goal of his love. If redemption and propitiation and forgiveness and justification and reconciliation are not taking us to the enjoyment of Jesus himself, they are not love.

Press on this. It’s what Jesus prayed for.
If Jesus came to spend the day with you, sat down beside you on the couch, and said, “I really love you,” what would you focus on the rest of the day that you spend together?

Un dia a la Vez — Sabiduría contra necedad (segunda parte)

Sabiduría contra necedad

(segunda parte)

La sabiduría del prudente es discernir sus caminos, pero al necio lo engaña su propia necedad.

— Proverbios 14:8

La sabiduría es una virtud, pero la necedad es un defecto y se puede convertir en un pecado. En la vida se presentarán momentos en los que nos pondrán a prueba y donde tendremos la opción de tomar decisiones sabias o necias. Así que cualquiera de las dos determinará las consecuencias de nuestros actos.

Del mismo modo que muchas personas crecen en sabiduría y aprenden de sus errores, otras tantas volverán a su necedad y no aprenderán la lección ni darán frutos, aunque hayan tocado fondo y Dios les haya dado otra oportunidad.

Las personas que son así, las vemos abrumadas sin cesar y siempre enredadas en problemas. No tienen paz en sus corazones porque no tienen a Dios en cuenta en sus vidas. Se creen autosuficientes, pero sus vidas no modelan a Cristo.

La comparación que hace Dios en la Biblia sobre la necedad del hombre es que el necio es como el perro que vuelve a su vómito. ¿Visualizas esa imagen? ¡Puf! Entonces, si hemos sufrido por los errores cometidos, ¿por qué los repetimos? Porque se nos olvida el dolor y el daño causado.

Por lo tanto, pidámosle hoy a Dios que nos fortalezca y nos dé sabiduría que viene de lo alto.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
En la vida se presentarán momentos en los que nos pondrán a prueba y donde tendremos la opción de tomar decisiones sabias o necias.

Хліб Наш Насущній — Бог розуміє

Бог розуміє

Читати: Псалом 146:1-11 | Біблія за рік: Псалми 146–147 ; 1 Коринтян 15:1-28

Завантажити MP3

Великий Господь наш, та дужий на силі, Його мудрості міри нема!

— Псалом 146:5

Після нещодавнього переїзду родини Мейбл її семирічний син Райян хвилювався, готуючись до літнього табору в новій школі. Мейбл підбадьорювала його. Втім одного ранку нехарактерна для Райяна дратівливість здавалася надмірною. Мейбл співчутливо запитала: “Що тебе непокоїть, синку?”

Дивлячись у вікно, Райян знизав плечима: “Не знаю, мамо. Просто у мене занадто багато емоцій”.

Не знаючи, як допомогти сину, мати розповіла йому, що для неї переїзд також був важким. Вона запевнила Райяна у Божій близькості, у тому, що Він усе знає, навіть якщо їм складно зрозуміти або висловити своє розчарування. “Давай перед тим, як почнеться навчання, відвідаємо твоїх друзів”, – запропонувала Мейбл. Вони спланували свій візит і подякували Богу за Його розуміння, навіть якщо у Його дітей “занадто багато емоцій”.

Автор Псалма 146 теж відчував безліч бурхливих емоцій під час духовної подорожі. Проте він усвідомив блага від хвали всезнаючому Творцю, Помічнику та Цілителю тілесних і душевних ран (вв. 1-6). Він славив Бога за Його забезпечення та любов до “тих, хто боїться Його, хто надію складає на милість Його” (в. 11).

Якщо нам важко розібратися у своїх мінливих емоціях, не потрібно занурюватися в самотність або відчай. Краще заспокоїтися в безумовній любові і безмежному розумінні незмінного Бога.

Як усвідомлення Божого розуміння наших найпотаємніших потреб допомагає нам довіряти Йому? Які почуття вам найскладніше довірити Божим могутнім і милостивим рукам?

Суверенний Боже, дякую, що Ти розумієш мої емоційні та фізичні потреби і дбаєш про них.

Автор Сошіль Діксон

© 2020 Хліб Наш Насущні
Як усвідомлення Божого розуміння наших найпотаємніших потреб допомагає нам довіряти Йому?