Daily Bible Reading - November 10, 2020

 1st Reading

 

Paul reminds Timothy to encourage the community in Ephesus that the witness of their lives is important. We evangelize others in the way we live, and we can do this well or poorly. We miss the opportunity to preach the Gospel when we fail to live our Christian principles and beliefs. Let us avoid becoming hypocrites—saying one thing and doing something completely different.

 

Titus 2:1-8, 11-14

 

¹ Beloved: You must say what is consistent with sound doctrine, namely, ² that older men should be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, love, and endurance. ³ Similarly, older women should be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to drink, teaching what is good, ⁴ so that they may train younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled, chaste, good homemakers, under the control of their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited. ⁶ Urge the younger men, similarly, to control themselves, ⁷ showing yourself as a model of good deeds in every respect, with integrity in your teaching, dignity, ⁸ and sound speech that cannot be criticized, so that the opponent will be put to shame without anything bad to say about us. ¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, saving all ¹² and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, ¹³ as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.

 

PSALM

 

Psalm 37:3-4, 18, 23, 27, 29

R: The salvation of the just comes from the Lord. 

 

³ Trust in the Lord and do good, that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security. ⁴ Take delight in the Lord, and he will grant you your heart’s requests. (R) ¹⁸ The Lord watches over the lives of the wholehearted; their inheritance lasts forever. ²³ By the Lord are the steps of a man made firm, and he approves his way. (R) ²⁷ Turn from evil and do good, that you may abide forever; ²⁹ the just shall possess the land and dwell in it forever. (R)

 

 

2nd Reading

 

We are mere servants of God. We should not dictate Him on how things should happen or what His will should be. Humility, a trait essential for a true disciple of Jesus, demands that we know God’s will and obey it. We can ask Him how to implement it or ask for further instructions. However, we cannot change God’s will or manipulate and influence Him to our own.

 

1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17

 

⁹ Brothers and sisters: You are God’s building. ¹⁰ According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, ¹¹ for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. ¹⁶ Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

 

GOSPEL

 

Jesus assures the people that the Temple will be rebuilt in three days after it is destroyed. However, He was referring to the Temple that was His body. He wants the people to shift their focus from a building to their person. This is to emphasize our calling to be in a relationship with God, not only a commitment to a set of prayers in a temple. Churches are important for gathering people to pray, but they are not the focus of our faith—Jesus is. 

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him. 

 

Luke 17:7-10 

 

⁷ Jesus said to the Apostles: “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? ⁸ Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? ⁹ Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? ¹⁰ So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’”

 

Reflect: “True servants of God don’t try to use God for their purposes. They let God use them for His purposes.” – William James

 

 

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST 

Thank You, Lord, for: 

____________________  

                     

 Read the Bible in one year - Jeremiah 4-6