| Thu Feb 26 | am: 50, 59, 60 pm: 19, 46 | Gen 39:1-23 | 1 Cor 2:14-3:15 | Mark 2:1-12 |
THURSDAY: LENT 1 –Saint John Calpha, Martyr 1575 –(Eastern Church)
LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: This saint was born in Galata in Constantinople. He was an architect and carpenter by profession. He offended the Turks by his wholehearted confession of the Christian faith, and they tried to force him to become a Moslem. `I shall never deny my sweet Jesus Christ, replied John heroically, `I believe in Him, serve Him, and confess Him.‘ After harsh torture, the Turks beheaded him in Constantinople on February 26th, 1575.
BIBLICAL MEDITATION OF THE DAY: We all need people who are sources of encouragement to us when the chips are down, and the lesson from Genesis in the Old Testament does just that for us on our Lenten journey. Given all that had happened to Joseph leading up to his time in Egypt He could have very easily become bitter. He could have turned away from God. He could have stewed in his own self-pit and asked why is all this happening to me?” But instead, he continued to trust in the promises of God that he knew to be true, and he continued to plod always onward with his eyes fixed on God. He stood firm and refused to be unfaithful to the Lord, no matter what the consequences.
This is what we need to understand in Lent and in life, that God is in control and that he will remain with us; we can see hard times as means of grace and use them as stepping stones to higher things. We can meet difficulties with the expectation that God is here to teach us something, and we can grab hold of the opportunity to learn from him. If instead we meet difficulty with a complaining and worrying spirit, we’ll not only lose the blessings that God would have brought, but our spiritual life also suffers.
PRAYER OF THE DAY: Lord, If I be cast down and trodden under the feet of men and there be no one to help me; I will find comfort by drawing nearer to Thee, oh God; and when all hope is gone and all my aspirations are dashed to pieces and my future seems bleak; I will find comfort by drawing nearer to Thee, oh God, nearer to Thee. Amen!
ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: “The purpose of God’s Providence is to unite, by means of right faith and spiritual love, people who have been separated by evil. To this end, the Savior also suffered for us, “in order to gather together the children of God who were scattered- Saint Maximus the Confessor.
LENTEN DISCIPLINE – Like Saint John Calpha centuries ago. Christians face persecution by radical fundamentalists. Go to https://globalchristianrelief.org/stories/15-places-where- christians-risk-everything-when-they-convert-from-islam/ to discern how you could help as part of your Lenten journey.
SONG OF THE HEART, SONG OF THE SEASON – Strong Enough by Matthew West