Sunday, March 8, 2020

The Daily Lectionary for MONDAY, March 9, 2020

https://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/revised-common-lectionary-complementary/2020/03/09?version=NIV
Psalm 128; Numbers 21:4-9; Hebrews 3:1-6

The Daily Lectionary
MONDAY, March 9, 2020
(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)

God promises life
1  Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
     who walk in obedience to him.
2  You will eat the fruit of your labor;
    blessings and prosperity will be yours.
3  Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
     within your house;
   your children will be like olive shoots
     around your table.
4  Yes, this will be the blessing
     for the man who fears the Lord.

5  May the Lord bless you from Zion;
     may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
     all the days of your life.
6  May you live to see your children’s children—
     peace be on Israel.

Moses lifts up the serpent
21:4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

Moses the servant Christ the son
3:1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

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 MONDAY, March 9, 2020
Psalm 128; Numbers 21:4-9; Hebrews 3:1-6

The Daily Prayer for MONDAY, March 9, 2020


https://biblegateway.christianbook.com/common-prayer-liturgy-for-ordinary-radicals/shane-claiborne/9780310326199/pd/326199?event=ESRCG
The Daily Prayer
MONDAY, March 9, 2020

 Basil of Caesarea, a fourth-century bishop and monk, asked, “Are you not a robber, you who consider your own that which has been given you solely to distribute to others? This bread which you have set aside is the bread of the hungry; this garment you have locked away is the clothing of the naked; those shoes which you let rot are the shoes of him who is barefoot; those riches you have hoarded are the riches of the poor.”

 Lord, keep us from speaking of love while hoarding the gifts you have given us. Make us full of discontent as long as there are brothers and sisters living and dying in hunger. Amen.

Verse of the Day for MONDAY, March 9, 2020

https://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/verse-of-the-day/2020/03/09?version=NIV

2 Timothy 1:9
He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
Read all of 2 Timothy 1

Listen to 2 Timothy 1

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

The Lenten Prayer for MONDAY, March 9, 2020 - Monday of the Second Week of Lent


40 Days of Lenten Prayers
Day 11 - Monday of the Second Week of Lent

Lord,
your commandment of love is so simple
and so challenging.
Help me to let go of my pride,
to be humble in my penance.
I want only to live the way you ask me to love,
to love the way you ask me to live.
I ask this through your son, Jesus,
who stands at my side
today and always.
Amen.

Un dia a la Vez - Lunes 9 de marzo de 2020

https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/un-dia-vez/2020/03/09

Tú la mereces

No temas, porque yo estoy contigo; no desmayes, porque yo soy tu Dios que te esfuerzo; siempre te ayudaré, siempre te sustentaré con la diestra de mi justicia.

En muchas ocasiones, las personas pueden pensar que las bendiciones de las que hablábamos en el devocional anterior no son realidad en sus vidas. Piensan que la felicidad, el éxito y el reconocimiento son para otras personas, no para ellas.

Se pasan la vida pensando y creyendo que los milagros son cosas del pasado.

Y aunque a menudo nos hablen de que el Señor quiere bendecirlas, no le creen a Dios.

En tu caso, quizá no puedas creer que por tus errores del pasado, tus faltas y tu manera de haber vivido, Dios pueda acordarse de ti. Es más, si estás alejado, si lo que has vivido en los últimos tiempos sabes que no está bien delante de Dios, se te hace muy difícil creer que Dios te quiere perdonar.

Por favor, necesitas entender que todos somos importantes para Él. Que no importa tu falta, pues hoy mismo, sí quieres, te puedes reconciliar con tu Padre Dios.

Entonces, el que es lento para la ira y grande en misericordia extenderá sus brazos y te dará el perdón que buscas. Te dará una nueva oportunidad para ser feliz y llenarte de bendiciones.

Hoy, aparte de reconciliarte con tu Dios, busca una Biblia. Si no tienes una, cómprala. Luego, cuando llegues a ese momento tuyo con Dios, pídele que te muestre las promesas que dejó para ti y para mí. Dicen los que saben que son más de treinta y tres mil promesas.

Te dejo hoy con una. Así que guárdala y atesórala en tu corazón.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
En muchas ocasiones, las personas pueden pensar que las bendiciones de las que hablábamos en el devocional anterior no son realidad en sus vidas.…

Standing Strong Through the Storm - Monday, March 9, 2020

https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/standing-strong-through-the-storm/2020/03/09
JESUS THE OVERCOMER

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Dr. Felix Ruh, a Jewish doctor in Paris, had a granddaughter who died of black diphtheria. Vowing to find out what had killed her, he locked himself in his laboratory for days and emerged with a fierce determination to prove, with his colleague, Louis Pasteur, the germ theory. The medical association had disapproved of Pasteur and had succeeded in getting him exiled, but he hid in the forest near Paris and erected a laboratory for his forbidden research.

Twenty beautiful horses were led out into the forest to the improvised laboratory. Scientists, doctors, and nurses came to watch the experiment. Ruh opened a steel vault and took out a large pail filled with black diphtheria germs, which he had cultured carefully for months. There were enough germs in that pail to kill everyone in France.

The scientist went to each horse and swabbed its nostrils, tongue, throat, and eyes with the deadly germs. Every horse except one developed a terrific fever and died. Most of the doctors and scientists wearied of the experiment and did not remain for what they thought would be the death of the remaining horse.

For several more days, this final horse lingered, lying pathetically on the ground. While Ruh, Pasteur, and several others were sleeping on cots in the stables, the orderly on duty had been instructed to awaken the scientists should there be any change in the animal’s temperature during the night. About two a.m., the temperature showed a half degree decrease, and the orderly wakened Dr. Ruh. By morning the thermometer had dropped two more degrees. By night the fever was entirely gone, and the horse was able to stand, eat, and drink.

Then Dr. Ruh took a sledgehammer and struck that beautiful horse a deathblow between the eyes. The scientists drew blood from the veins of this animal that had developed black diphtheria but had overcome it. They drove as fast as they could to the Paris municipal hospital and forced their way past the superintendent and the guards. They went into the ward where three hundred babies lay, segregated to die from black diphtheria. With the blood of the horse, they inoculated every one of the babies. All but three lived and recovered completely.

The blood of an overcomer saved them. The blood of an Overcomer has also spiritually saved many people. He too had to die to bring life to others.

RESPONSE: Today I will repeatedly praise Jesus for the blood He shed as an Overcomer for my sin.

PRAYER: Thank you, Lord, for sacrificing Yourself, an Overcomer, so that I might have abundant and eternal life.

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

Women of the Bible - Monday, March 9, 2020

https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/women-of-the-bible/2020/03/09

Miriam

Her name means: "Bitterness"

Her character: Even as a young girl, she showed fortitude and wisdom. A leader of God's people at a crucial moment in history, she led the celebration after crossing the Red Sea and spoke God's word to his people, sharing their forty-year journey through the wilderness.
Her sorrow: That she was struck with leprosy for her pride and insubordination and was denied entry into the Promised Land.
Her joy: To have played an instrumental role in the deliverance of God's people, a nation she loved.
Key Scriptures: Exodus 2:1-10; 15:20-21; Numbers 12:1-15

Her Story

Seven days, I must stay outside the camp of my people, an old woman, fenced in by memories of what has been.

How could I forget our years in Egypt, the cries of the mothers whose children were murdered or the moans of our brothers as they worked themselves to death? I have only to shut my eyes and see—the wall of water, the soldiers chasing us through the sea, the sounds of their noisy drowning, and, finally, the silence and the peace. How I miss the singing of the women I led that day, dancing at the sea's edge, praising God for hurling our enemies into the deep waters, certain we would never see them again.

But we did see them again—our enemies, though not the Egyptians. We let ingratitude stalk and rob us of our blessings. We preferred the garlic and leeks of Egypt, the food of our slavery, to the manna the good God gave us. Enslaved to fear, we refused to enter the land of promise.

Time and again Moses and Aaron and I exhorted the people to stand firm, to have faith, to obey God. But there came a day when Aaron and I could stand with our brother no longer. Instead, we spoke against him and his Cushite wife. What part did she, a foreigner to our suffering, have in the promise? So we challenged Moses. Had the Lord spoken only through him? All Israel knew better. We deserved an equal share in his authority, an equal say in how to lead the people.

But the Lord who speaks also heard our complaint and summoned the three of us to stand before him at the Tent of Meeting. He addressed Aaron and me with terrible words.

When the cloud of his presence finally lifted, I was a leper. I could see the horror on every face turned toward me. Aaron begged Moses to forgive us both. And Moses cried out to the Lord to heal me.

The Lord replied, "If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that, she can be brought back." Then at least I knew my banishment was temporary; my disease would be healed.

Now I see that my enemies were not merely buried in the sea but in my own heart as well. Still, God has let me live, and I believe he will heal me. Though he brings grief, he will yet show compassion. One thing I know, he has hurled my pride into the sea and for that, I will also sing his praises.

...Though Scripture doesn't reveal Miriam's thoughts or the attitude of her heart after she was chastened for complaining about Moses, it is not unreasonable to think she repented during the seven days of her banishment.

After all, it's not easy for a person of faith, however flawed, to hear God speaking as though he were spitting on her and still to hold fast to her error.

Perhaps Miriam, and the nation itself, needed a shocking rebuke in order to recognize the seriousness of a sin that threatened the unity of God's people.

Why, you might ask, wasn't Aaron similarly afflicted for his sin? Perhaps because Miriam seemed to be the ringleader. Perhaps, also, because God didn't want the worship of the tabernacle to be disrupted by Aaron's absence as high priest.

The last we hear of Miriam is that she died and was buried in Kadesh Barnea, not all that far from where Hagar, another slave woman, had encountered an angel in the wilderness so many years earlier. Like her brothers Moses and Aaron, Miriam died shortly before the Israelites ended their forty-year sojourn in the desert. She, too, was prevented from entering the Promised Land.

Still, like them, Miriam is one of the great heroes of our faith. As a young girl, she helped save the infant Moses, Israel's future deliverer. Herself a prophetess, she exhorted and encouraged God's people and led the singing of the first psalm ever recorded in Scripture. Yet, strong though she was, she, like all of us, sinned against God and suffered a punishment designed to bring her to repentance.

Her Promise

Miriam's story offers an extraordinary example of God's willingness to forgive those who sin. Though she had to pay the consequences for her actions—seven days of exclusion from the camp and from all those who loved her—she reentered the camp a forgiven woman. Hundreds of years later, she is remembered by the prophet Micah as a leader of Israel with Moses and Aaron (Micah 6:4).

Such liberating forgiveness is available to us as well as to Miriam. God looks with judgment at our sin, waits patiently for our repentance, and then eagerly offers his forgiveness and acceptance. We reenter fellowship with him renewed and clean and forgiven. Our repentance turns a legacy of judgment and punishment into a legacy of forgiveness and worthiness before God.

This devotional is drawn from Women of the Bible: A One-Year Devotional Study of Women in Scripture by Ann Spangler and Jean Syswerda. Used with permission.
Even as a young girl, she showed fortitude and wisdom.

LHM Daily DevotionsMarch 9, 2020 - MEETING HUMAN NEEDS

https://www.lhm.org/dailydevotions/default.asp?date=20200309

"MEETING HUMAN NEEDS"

March 9, 2020

Now when Jesus heard this, He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed Him on foot from the towns. When He went ashore He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick.

There is a cost to freedom, and sometimes we aren't the ones who pay it. We are used to thinking of Jesus as the only sufferer in the story of His Passion—and obviously He is the main person, the One we should love and honor and glorify.

But others paid a price, too, and Jesus knew that would happen—and it grieved Him. In this case it was His cousin, John the Baptist. God sent John to prepare the way for Jesus, and John did this with all his heart—preaching, teaching, and baptizing, always pointing the people to Jesus, who was coming.

But then King Herod got angry with John for criticizing him, and he threw him in jail. That was hard on John, and probably hard on Jesus as well, especially after John appeared to be having second thoughts about Him (Matthew 11). And then came the final blow, when Herod had John killed. "Now when Jesus heard this, He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself." He wanted to be alone to grieve.

But the crowds wouldn't even let Him do that. People followed Him, their minds on their own troubles, and Jesus would not turn them away. He healed them and taught them. This is how much He loved them, and how much He loves us—that He is willing to pay the price of grief so that we could be rescued from the power of evil. And even more than that, He is willing to put His own human needs aside to care for us.

He loves you with this same love even today. He is aware of your needs. As Paul puts it, "Christ Jesus is the One who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Romans 8:34-35)

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for laying aside Your own needs to meet ours. Amen.

Reflection Questions:
  1. When you are grieving, what do you do to feel better?
  2. When do you have to put aside your own needs to care for someone else?
  3. How does it make you feel, to realize Jesus would do this for you?

Lenten Devotions were 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).
When you are grieving, what do you do to feel better?

CPTLN devocional del 09 de Marzo de 2020 - Satisfaciendo necesidades humanas


ALIMENTO DIARIO

Satisfaciendo necesidades humanas

09 de Marzo de 2020

Cuando Jesús se enteró, se fue de allí en una barca, a un lugar apartado. Cuando la gente lo supo, lo siguió a pie desde las ciudades. Cuando Jesús salió de la barca y vio a tanta gente, tuvo compasión de ellos y sanó a los que estaban enfermos.

La libertad tiene un costo y, a veces, no somos nosotros quienes lo pagamos. Estamos acostumbrados a pensar en Jesús como el único que sufre en la historia de su Pasión, y obviamente él es la persona principal, la que debemos amar, honrar y glorificar. Pero también hubo otros que pagaron un precio, y Jesús sabía que eso sucedería y le dolía. En este caso fue su primo, Juan el Bautista. Dios envió a Juan a preparar el camino para Jesús, y Juan lo hizo con todo su corazón: predicando, enseñando y bautizando, siempre señalando a las personas a Jesús.

Pero entonces el rey Herodes se enojó con Juan porque este lo criticó, y lo echó a la cárcel. Eso fue difícil para Juan y probablemente también para Jesús, especialmente después de que Juan parecía tener dudas sobre él (Mateo 11). Y luego vino el golpe final, cuando Herodes hizo matar a Juan. Y "cuando Jesús se enteró, se fue de allí en una barca, a un lugar apartado."

Jesús quería estar solo, pero las multitudes no lo dejaron. La gente lo siguió, pensando en sus propios problemas, y Jesús no los rechazó. Los sanó y les enseñó. Así es cómo los amó y así es cómo nos ama a nosotros. Él está dispuesto a pagar el precio del dolor para que podamos ser rescatados del poder del mal. Está también dispuesto a dejar a un lado sus propias necesidades humanas para cuidarnos.

Él te ama a ti con ese mismo amor. Él está al tanto de tus necesidades. Como dice Pablo: "Cristo es el que murió; más aun, el que también resucitó, el que además está a la derecha de Dios e intercede por nosotros. ¿Qué podrá separarnos del amor de Cristo?" (Romanos 8:34-35)

ORACIÓN: Querido Señor, gracias por dejar de lado tus propias necesidades para satisfacer las nuestras. Amén.

Dra. Kari Vo

Para reflexionar:
  1. ¿En qué circunstancias tienes que dejar de lado tus necesidades para atender a las de otra persona?
  2. ¿Cómo te hace sentir saber que Jesús haría esto por ti?

© Copyright 2020 Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones. Que a través de estos devocionales, la Palabra de Dios te refresque en tu diario caminar.
¿En qué circunstancias tienes que dejar de lado tus necesidades para atender a las de otra persona?

Notre Pain Quotidien - Sous la garde de Dieu

https://notrepainquotidien.org/2020/03/09/sous-la-garde-de-dieu/

Sous la garde de Dieu

Lisez : Psaume 121.5-8
La Bible en un an : Deutéronome 10 – 12 ; Marc 12.1-27

L’Éternel est celui qui te garde.Psaume 121.5

En me saluant de la main, mon bout de chou de petit-fils s’est retourné pour me demander : « Mamie, pourquoi restes-tu sous le porche à nous regarder partir ? » Je lui ai souri, car je trouvais sa question « mignonne » du fait qu’il est si jeune. Le voyant toutefois préoccupé, j’ai essayé de lui donner une bonne réponse : « Eh bien, c’est par politesse. Si tu es mon invité, je te montre que je me soucie de toi en te regardant partir. » En soupesant ma réponse, il semblait rester perplexe. Alors je lui ai dit une vérité toute simple : « Je te regarde partir parce que je t’aime. En voyant la voiture s’éloigner, je sais que tu es en train de rentrer chez toi en sécurité. » Il m’a souri, puis m’a serrée dans ses bras avec tendresse. Il venait de comprendre.

Sa compréhension d’enfant m’a rappelé ce que nous devrions tous nous rappeler, à savoir que notre Père céleste ne nous quitte jamais des yeux, nous, ses précieux enfants. Comme la Bible le dit : « L’Éternel est celui qui te garde, l’Éternel est ton ombre à ta main droite » (Ps 121.5).

Quel réconfort pour les pèlerins qui parcouraient les routes dangereuses jusqu’à Jérusalem, afin d’y adorer Dieu, que de savoir ceci : « Pendant le jour le soleil ne te frappera point, ni la lune pendant la nuit. L’Éternel te gardera de tout mal, il gardera ton âme » (V. 6,7). De même, tandis que nous parcourons les routes de la vie, affrontant parfois une menace spirituelle ou des épreuves, rappelons-nous ceci : « L’Éternel gardera ton départ et ton arrivée, dès maintenant et à jamais » (V. 8).
Père bienveillant, merci de veiller sur nous et de nous protéger sur les sentiers de la vie.
Dieu est amour et il veille toujours sur ses enfants.


© 2020 Ministères NPQ
En me saluant de la main, mon bout de chou de petit-fils s’est retourné pour me demander : …