Daily Devotion and Prayer for March 15th

+ DAILY PRAYER +

This Daily Devotion covers the first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy also called the Books of Moses or the Pentateuch, in a period of one year in a Monday through Friday format, the Psalms and order of devotion follow those presented in The Treasury of Daily Prayer from Concordia Publishing House.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

     Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy!

     In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! 

     Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan,

     and he hears my voice. 

     Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;

     He will never permit the righteous to be moved. 

Psalm 31:1-5

1  To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame;

in your righteousness deliver me! 

2  Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily!

Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! 

3  For you are my rock and my fortress;

and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; 

4  you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,

for you are my refuge. 

5  Into your hand I commit my spirit;

you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God. 

Reading Lev 23:9-32

The Feast of Firstfruits

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the ?Israelites?, and say to them, ‘When you come to the land that I am about to give to you and you reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruit of your harvest to the priest. 11 And he shall wave the sheaf ?before? Yahweh for your acceptance; the priest shall wave it ?on the day after? the Sabbath. 12 And on the day of your waving the sheaf you shall ?offer? a ?yearling? male lamb without defect as a burnt offering to Yahweh. 13 And its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of finely milled flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire for Yahweh, an appeasing fragrance; and its libation shall be a fourth of a hin of wine. 14 And you shall not eat bread or roasted grain or ripe grain until ?this very same day?, until you present your God’s offering. This must be ?a lasting statute? for your generations in all your dwellings.

The Feast of Weeks

15 “ ‘And you shall count for yourselves ?from the day after? the Sabbath, from the day of your bringing the wave offering’s sheaf—there shall be seven full weeks. 16 Until ?the day after? the seventh Sabbath you shall count fifty days; then you shall present a new grain offering for Yahweh. 17 You shall bring from your dwellings for a wave offering two loaves of bread ?made with? two-tenths of an ephah of finely milled flour; they must be baked with leaven—the firstfruits ?belonging to? Yahweh. 18 And, in addition to the bread, you shall present seven ?yearling? male lambs without defects and one ?young bull? and two rams—they shall be a burnt offering for Yahweh with their grain offering and their libations, an offering made by fire, an appeasing fragrance for Yahweh. 19 And you shall ?offer? one he-goat as a sin offering and two ?yearling? male lambs as a sacrifice of fellowship offerings. 20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering ?before? Yahweh; in addition to the two male lambs, they shall be holy for Yahweh for the priest. 21 And ?you shall make a proclamation? on ?this very same day?; it shall be a holy assembly for you; you shall not do ?any regular work?; this is a ?lasting statute? in all your dwellings throughout your generations. 22 And when you reap the harvest of your land, you must not finish the edge of your field at your reaping, and you must not glean the remnants of your harvest—you shall leave them behind for the needy and for the alien; I am Yahweh your God.’ ”

The Feast of Trumpets

23 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the ?Israelites?, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ?you must have? a rest period, a remembrance of the trumpet blast, a holy assembly. 25 You must not do ?any regular work?, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh.’ ”

The Day of Atonement

26 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “Surely the Day of Atonement is on the tenth day of the seventh month; it shall be a holy assembly for you, and you shall deny yourselves, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 28 And you must not do ?any regular work? on ?this very same day?, because it is the Day of Atonement to make atonement for you ?before? Yahweh your God. 29 If there is any person who does not deny himself on ?this very same day?, then he shall be cut off from his people. 30 As for any person who does any work on ?this very same day?, I will exterminate that person from the midst of his people. 31 You must not do any work; it is a ?lasting statute? throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It is ?a Sabbath of complete rest? for you, and you shall deny yourselves on the ninth day of the month in the evening—from evening to evening you must observe your extraordinary Sabbath.”

Lord’s Prayer

Daily Prayer

     Merciful Father, Your patience and loving kindness toward us have no end.  Grant that by Your Holy Spirit we may always think and do those things that are pleasing in Your sight; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Concluding Prayer

Heavenly Father, send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts to direct and rule us according to Your will, to comfort us in all our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and to lead us into all truth; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.